Albus Potter and the Enemy's Quest
by CollegeAuthor
Summary: When Harry Potter sends his youngest son off to Hogwarts, he thinks he'll be safe and free of the evil he faced as a young boy. Little does he know, an old enemy will come back to haunt the young Potter. Takes place after the Epilogue in HP 7.
1. The Son of the Boy Who Lived

_**J.K. Rowling owns the rights to the Harry Potter franchise and all of its characters/details. This is merely an extract from my mind after reading the books. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or places. **_

**This extract follows the epilogue from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: **

**Chapter One: The Son of the Boy Who Lived**

Harry watched as the Hogwarts Express rolled out of King Cross Station with his two sons. He wouldn't be seeing them until Christmas, but he hardly believed they would miss him as much as he would miss them. They were going to Hogwarts, after all, where they would be able to spend their time using magic and causing trouble, like he once did. Harry believed once his son, Albus Severus, was sorted into Gryffindor, he would begin to have the time of his life.

**Two Hours Earlier:**

During the last month, Albus was so nervous about being sorted in to Slytherin that he barely ate. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at this, for he knew that just 26 years ago he was in his youngest son's position. Whenever Albus talked about Hogwarts at dinner, James, Harry's eldest son, would tell him that he was going to be sorted into Slytherin unless he gave him his dessert. Not being stupid enough to believe this, Albus usually stayed quiet for the rest of the night.

When the time came, the five Potters headed to Diagon Alley, where James and Albus would get their school supplies. By this time, James was telling Albus that in order to be sorted; he would first be required to battle a dragon. At a loss for words, Albus turned to his mother, where she stroked his hair.

"James, stop scaring your brother." Ginny Potter said.

"I'm not scared!" Albus exclaimed.

"I would be scared, if I had to battle a dragon again," James said, as Ginny Potter gave him a stern look. James decided to be quiet instead of risking his parents' generosity that day. Harry had promised to buy James a Firebolt 260, the fastest broom available, if he behaved. Surprisingly, like his father, James had made the Quiddich team last year, in his first year at Hogwarts. Unlike Harry, James was a Chaser and a pretty decent one too. Harry was surprised that James had made the Quiddich team in his first year, because he had received his position as Seeker by pure luck, and with the unintentional help of Draco Malfoy.

The five Potters walked into the Leaky Cauldron, where they would be meeting the Weasleys for a mid- morning brunch. Harry spotted Ron and Hermione with their two kids sitting at a large booth near the back. Hermione noticed Harry, smiled, and signaled for him and his family to come sit with them.

"James, look at you, you've gotten so big!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You saw me two weeks ago, Aunt Hermione." James said blandly. Hermione ignored James and swept him, Lily, and Albus into hugs.

"Hey, Rose." Albus said to his cousin, as he high-fived his other cousin, Hugo.

"Aren't you excited that we're going to Hogwarts!?" Rose said, excitement lingering in her voice.

"Um, well, yeah, I suppose." Albus said, barely audible.

"I'm especially excited for the Sorting Hat Ceremony; I heard it's quite something." Rose said, still smiling.

Don't remind me," Albus said, sliding into a booth.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all exchanged hugs and slid into the booth with their kids. Although they were having a nice reunion, sadness lingered amongst them, for they would have to say goodbye to their kids in just a few short hours. Just as the waitress was bringing their pumpkin juices, Molly and Arthur Weasley walked through the front door.

"Grandma, Grandpa!" Lily yelled, as she ran over to her grandparents. She spoke so loud, that she caused an elderly witch to mutter something about irresponsible parents. Molly and Arthur Weasley gave Lily a big hug, as their other grandchildren ran up to hug them. Harry and Hermione got up to hug their in-laws, while Ron and Ginny stayed in their booths.

"You're not going to hug your own mother, eh Ronald?" Molly Weasley asked.

"I saw you yesterday, Mum" Ron stated.

"So did Hermione, but she still gave me a hug." Molly Weasley said coldly. "And Ginny, I haven't seen you in three days." Instead of arguing, Ginny got up to hug her mother, and Ron followed. Molly and Arthur Weasley were always apparating in and out of the Potter and Weasley households to bring food, advice, and just to say hello. Though Ginny and Ron found this extremely annoying, Harry and Hermione were grateful to have such loving in-laws.

"Hey there's Uncle George!" James exclaimed, as he ran over to his uncle. The Potter and Weasley kids always loved to see their Uncle George because he was always bringing them great gadgets. Just last week, George had given Lily a package of Dungbombs, which she had "accidently" left under her brother James' pillow after he took her last Pumpkin Pasty without asking. After this incident, Ginny had pleaded with George not to give her kids anything that she didn't know about.

"Did you bring us anything?" Lily asked, smiling.

"Aw, I'm sorry Lily, but you know your parents don't want me giving you anything anymore." George said, covertly slipping Lily a small package of Luminous Balloons. Just as everyone was getting settled in, Percy Weasley walked in.

"Hi, everyone just thought I'd stop in before my niece and nephews left for school." Percy said, trying to be sincere. I brought you all presents before you leave." Percy said, pulling a package out of his leather bag. Percy unwrapped the package and started distributing small notebooks to the kids.

"These are academic planner. They're ministry approved, and they help you keep track of all the homework you have!" Percy said, excited.

"Um, thanks." James said, as the others nodded their head in appreciation.

"Thank you, Percy that was so considerate of you." Hermione started, "How are Penelope and the new baby?" Hermione asked.

" Very well, thank you, little Fred is about to turn 2 weeks in just a few days, so Penny will be able to return to work soon." Percy said, smiling.

"Yeah she had a baby two weeks ago, she's all set to return to hard manual labor as Healer." Ron said sarcastically. At this, George burst out laughing. Percy looked hurt, but smiled and went to turn out the door.

"Well, Rose and Albus, good luck at Hogwarts, I know you'll do just fine. James, stay out of trouble." Percy said, as he walked out the door. When Percy left, Hermione turned and slapped Ron on the shoulder.

"OW! What the-?" Ron started.

"Why do you have to be so mean to your brother? He is trying to be nice, you know." Hermione said, annoyed.

"Hey, how would you like it if I made you go back to work two weeks after having Rose or Hugo?" Ron asked defensively.

"First of all, Ronald, that wouldn't happen. Second of all, maybe Penelope _wants _to go back to work." Hermione stated.

"I doubt that very much, Honey. She just had a baby; she'll want to spend as much time with him as she can." Mrs. Weasley said. Hermione shrugged, not wanting to pick a fight with her in-laws. For reasons that she did not know, Percy and the Weasleys were barely speaking. As far as she knew, they hadn't even seen their grandchild yet.

The Potters and the Weasleys ate quickly, having to complete a lot more shopping before they left for King's Cross. They walked outside and hugged one another, promising to meet at King's Cross in about an hour. They said good bye to Molly and Arthur Weasley before departing.

"Can we get the broom now?" James asked eagerly.

"Yeah, after we get Al's wand." Harry said.

"Can I get a broom, too?" Lily asked.

"No, you're not old enough." Ginny said.

"I'm ten-years old, and James gets to get one and he's only two years older!" Lily yelled.

"James plays Quiddich; he didn't have his own broom before, Lily." Harry said.

"It's not fair." Lily muttered.

"Lily, you're going to Hogwarts next year. If you decide to play Quiddich, we'll get you a broom too." Harry said, patting his daughter's head. Though still upset, Lily nodded her head and accepted the offer.

"Ginny, why don't you take James to get his broom while I take Albus to get his wand. I don't want to be late." Harry said to his wife. Ginny nodded, pecking Harry on the cheek as she took Lily and James to the broom shop. Harry grabbed Albus' packages from his arms and started walking towards Ollivander's wand shop. Though extremely old, Mr. Ollivander re-opened his shop after Voldemort's defeat, and continued to sell wands. There was no place better to buy a wand.

Harry and Albus walked through the front door of Ollivander's wand shop, the door creaking as it opened. Albus looked around, mystified by the thousands of wands lined up against the wall. He wondered which one he would be taking home. Mr. Ollivander got up from his seat behind his desk and started to wobble with his cane towards Harry and Albus.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, seems only yesterday when I sold you your wand," Ollivander said, smiling.

"Yes, I remember," said Harry smiling. "My other son, James, bought his wand from you just last year too."

"Ah, yes, I remember, I remember. Dragon Heart-String 10 ½ inches, reasonably pliant." Ollivander said, still smiling. "And what can I do for you today?"

"My son Al will be going to Hogwarts in just a few hours and he needs a wand." Jarry said. Ollivander looked down at Albus.

"Yes, and you must be Albus," Ollivander said, as he looked down at Albus.

"Yeah." Albus said, barely coughing up the words.

"He's a little nervous," Harry said, as he patted his son on the head.

"Well, well, no need to be nervous, Hogwarts is a wonderful place where you'll make friends and learn magic, and we'll find the perfect wand for you. After all, the wand chooses the wizard." Ollivander said, as his eyes twinkled. Albus gave a short smile back, feeling a little bit re-assured.

"Well, Mr. Potter, why don't you try this wand right here?" Ollivander said, pulling a wand down from the shelf. Albus took the wand and felt it in his hand. It felt cold and scratchy. He waved the wand at the window, causing glass to project towards Harry, Ollivander, and himself. Harry pushed Albus and Mr. Ollivander down as glass came flying towards them.

"Reparo," said Harry, as he pointed his wand towards the window.

"Hahaha, no worries, no worries, happens to everyone," said Ollivander as he pulled a shard of glass out of his hair. "Okay, then, why don't we try this one." Ollivander said, as he handed Albus another wand. Albus, afraid to point the wand at anything, shut his eyes as he waved the wand at the wall. No glass broke, but Albus was thrown about 10 feet backwards, the wand still in his hand.

"You alright, Al?" Harry asked, helping his son to his feet.

"Yeah," said Albus, rubbing his head.

"Not to worry, not to worry, we'll find the right wand for you," Ollivander said, still smiling. After many failed attempts, Ollivander dug through old boxes and finally found a wand he thought might work.

"I wonder, I wonder if this might be the right wand, for you, Mr. Potter." Ollivander said, handing Albus another wand. This wand felt cool and smooth, had a dark brown tint, and had an engraved handle decorated with all sorts of magical creatures. As Albus held the wand, he felt warm and happy, as white sparks illuminated the tip of the wand.

"I think we have found your wand, Mr. Potter, or rather, it has found you." Ollivander said a triumphed look on his face.

"I like this wand," Albus said, smiling.

"Yes I thought this might be a good fit for you," said Ollivander. "11 ¾ inches, phoenix tail feather, strong. This was the first wand of Albus Dumbledore." Ollivander said.

"Albus Dumbledore?" Albus asked.

"Yes, this wand was Albus Dumbledore's. It chose him when he was eleven." Ollivander said. "Treat it well, Mr. Potter, you wouldn't want to damage or lose the wand of the man you were named after, would you?" Ollivander said, as he patted Albus' head.

Harry and Albus left the wand shop to meet up with the rest of the family; it would be time to leave for King's Cross. Out of the distance, Harry spotted Ginny with Lily and James. James was smiling and holding a broom in his right hand.

"All set?" Ginny asked, patting Albus' head. Albus nodded and smiled, relieved that he had gotten his wand and everything else he needed for Hogwarts. As the five Potters entered Kings Cross Station, James walked up to this brother.

"You know I was just kidding, right? They don't really make you battle a dragon." James said to Albus.

"Yeah, I figured. I'm just nervous about being sorted into Slytherin. I don't want to let the family down." Albus said.

"You wouldn't let them down." James said, nodding towards his parents. "They already like you the best."

"That's not true, James, we love you all equally." Ginny said, pulling James into a hug. James looked around and saw people staring.

The five Potters went through the barrier of 9 ¾. Albus was more nervous than ever, his whole life was about to change. He would no longer be in the comfort of his own home; he would no longer need his parents to perform magic to fix things for him. He would be performing his own magic. Albus only hoped that he would be doing it in Gryffindor, or at least Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, anything but Slytherin.

Harry noticed Ron and Hermione giving Rose one last hug before they set her off on the train. Hermione had tears in her eyes, and Harry noticed that Ron was shedding some too. Harry noticed Ron give Rose a handful of sickles, as he closed her hand around the coins. Harry knew Ron was remembering when he was a student at Hogwarts, and his parents could barely afford to buy him what he needed never mind give him spare money.

Albus' heart was racing, this was it. He was going to leave his mum, dad, and sister for almost six months. He was grateful he would have his brother; as long as he didn't pull too may jokes on him. Harry turned to face his son.

"But, Dad, what if I am put in Slytherin?" Albus asked his father, his face flooded with desperation.

"Albus Severus Potter, you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts, and one of them was a Slytherin. He was probably one of the bravest men I ever knew." Harry said.

"But just say though I am?" Albus asked, ignoring his father's first response.

"Then Slytherin House will be lucky to gain a wonderful young wizard, but just so you know, you can choose Gryffindor. The sorting hat takes your wish into account." Harry said, his green eyes twinkling. Albus smiled at his father and gave him a hug. He felt better, and prepared to take on the challenges that Hogwarts would entail. Albus noticed that his brother had already boarded the Hogwarts Express, so he turned to his mother and sister to give them one last hug. He walked up the steps to the scarlet-colored train and looked at his family one last time. He waved, and finally walked towards his brother's compartment.

Harry watched as the Hogwarts Express rolled out of King Cross Station with his two sons. He wouldn't be seeing them until Christmas, but he hardly believed they would miss him as much as he would miss them. They were going to Hogwarts, after all, where they would be able to spend their time using magic and causing trouble, like he once did. Harry believed once his son, Albus Severus, was sorted into Gryffindor, he would begin to have the time of his life.


	2. The School of Magic

**Chapter Two: The School of Magic **

Albus looked through the window of his compartment. The scenery was beautiful, there were trees and rivers and mountains- if Hogwarts was anything like this then he knew he would love it. He had been riding the train for about two hours now; James had left a little while ago to go sit with his friends. The compartment held just Albus and Rose, and Beau of course, Albus' ferret. Rose was busy reading an old copy of _Hogwarts, A History, _so Albus just sat quietly by himself, stroking Beau's ears.

Albus heard laughter coming out from his compartment, the sound of students with their friends, having a good time. Albus could only hope he would have friends like that by next year. He didn't mind sitting with Rose, but all she wanted to do was read all the time. Albus sat back in his seat and stared at the ceiling until he heard a loud bang from outside his compartment. Rose looked up, alarmed, and Albus got up to open the door. Albus noticed a boy with curly blonde hair crumpled up on the ground. The boy got up and rubbed his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Albus asked the boy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit clumsy." The boy said, still rubbing his forehead. "Do you mind if I sit down in here?"

"Not at all!" Albus said, trying to contain his enthusiasm. The two boys went back into the compartment and sat down. Rose looked up and smiled at the boy, then turned back to her book.

" The name's Dursley by the way, Maximus Dursley, but everyone calls me Max." The boy said, putting out his hand for Albus to shake.

"Albus, but most people call me Al. This is my cousin, Rose." Albus said. Once again, Rose looked up and smiled, but she soon turned her eyes back to her book.

"This is exciting, isn't it," Max began, "I only found out I was a wizard about two months ago, and now I'm going to a school of magic!"

"Are you a muggleborn?" Albus asked, feeling embarrassed that he may have come off as rude.

"Yes, neither of my parents are wizards. My mum was a little shocked when I got my letter, surprisingly my dad wasn't all that shocked. He told me he has a cousin that's a wizard, his name is Harvey or something. You should have seen my grandparents though, they cried. They're not wrapped that tight though, if you know what I mean. How about you?" Max asked Albus.

"Both my parents are wizards," Albus said. "I think my dad's half blood. I know my Aunt Hermione is muggleborn though, and she's brilliant." At this, Rose let a small smile slip again.

"I think it's great that anyone can be a wizard, don't you? I mean I don't know much about magic, or Hogwarts, but I'm sure it will be fascinating." Max said, still smiling.

"Yeah, I'm excited, as long as I'm not sorted into Slytherin." Albus said, the anxiety coming back.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"It's a house at Hogwarts. When we get there, we're going to be sorted into our houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I want to be in Gryffindor. Slytherin is the worst one, I hope I don't get put in it." Albus said.

"Well, I'm sure they won't put you somewhere you don't want to be." Max said, reassuring Albus.

As the train moved on, it got darker and darker, the conductor had told students to start changing into their robes, for they would be arriving soon. Rose was already dressed, but Albus and Max needed help adjusting their ties.

"Thanks, Rosie." Max said, smiling. At this, Rose blushed.

The train pulled up into the train station, as all the first years were pressed against their windows, excited to see what was going to happen. A large man with thick, bushy hair and an equally bushy beard came thumping onto the platform with a black dog. He was holding a lantern, and calling for first years to come out first. Albus recognized this man as Hagrid, his dad's friend.

"First, years, come 'ere." Hagrid called out. All the first year students lined up in front of Hagrid, a little awed by his great size.

"Alrigh' now we're gunna be takin' the boats in the boathouse now, so if ev'ryone could get in a boat, tha' would be great. Four to a boat please." Hagrid said.

Albus, Rose, and Max found a boat, and waited around for someone to share their boat with. Beau had just waken up from his nap, and was annoyed that Albus was making him sway back and forth. He dug his head into Albus' pocket and tried to fall back asleep. Finally, a girl came walking up to the boat, about to get in. She had straight, blonde hair and big blue eyes.

"Do you mind if ride with you guys?" The girl asked.

"Sure," Albus said, blushing.

The boat took off towards the school, which was lit up with all sorts of candles and lights. It was massive. Albus could remember seeing pictures, but he never dreamt it could be so big.

"I'm Gabrielle, the way, but everyone calls me Gabby." The girl said.

"Albus," said Albus, smiling back at Gabby.

The boats docked at the slightly smaller boathouse at the school, and everyone got out. Hagrid lead everyone through giant oak doors, into a large corridor.

"Alrigh' if you coul' all wait 'ere, someone will come out to get yer." Hagrid said, diving, thumping into two doors in front of the students.

Everyone waited for several minutes, it seemed like no one was going to come get them. What if no one came? Albus started to get nervous again. All the thoughts of being sorted into Slytherin came back to mind. Just as Albus was thinking the worst, a stump, portly wizard walked out of the doors holding a handkerchief.

"Hi, newbies, I'm Professor Slughorn, the Potions teacher here, as well as the Head of Slytherin House. We'll be going through these doors, so that you can sorted into your houses. Don't be nervous, kids, there's nothing to worry about. If you would just come, follow me, we can proceed into the hall." Slughorn said.

Albus looked at Slughorn. Head of Slytherin House? Slughorn didn't seem to bad. Albus was nervous, but he began to ease up about Hogwarts, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, maybe Slytherin wouldn't be so bad, either. Albus and the others followed Slughorn into the Great Hall, about to find out their destinies. Albus was a little nervous, but he knew he could handle whatever was thrown at him, after all, he was the son of Harry Potter.


	3. The Sorting of the Houses

**Chapter Three: The Sorting of the Houses **

Albus Potter and his new classmates walked slowing down the Great Hall. Most of them were either looking up at the ceiling, awed by how it mirrored the night sky, or looking at the ground, too nervous to make eye contact with any upper classmen. Albus, on the other hand, looked straight ahead at the stool placed on the alter with the hat placed on it. He saw teachers sitting at a table behind the stool, and a giant chair in the middle which he assumed to be the headmaster's. Every seat except the middle one was occupied; he wondered where the headmaster was.

As everyone walked up to the alter, they gathered around the stool. An elderly witch with glasses and a severe looking expression was standing next to the stool with a piece of parchment in her hand. Though she looked strict, there was something about her that seemed caring.

"May I have your attention everyone? Although I may be the headmistress of this school, I have run the Sorting Hat Ceremony since I took this job. When I place the sorting hat on your head, it will tell you what house you're in and what table to sit at. Your house will be like your family. Any meritorious acts, and you will earn points, any rule breaking, and you will lose points. Please come up when I call your name." The headmistress said.

"Dursley, Maximus." The headmistress said. Max looked at Albus, smiled, then proceeded up towards the stool. The headmistress placed the hat on Max's head and pondered for a moment.

"Hmmm, a muggleborn. You seem like a generally happy fellow, you would do well in Hufflepuff. But wait, there's something about you, something courageous, yes that's it. Better be GRYFFINDOR!" The sorting hat said. Clapping broke out at the Gryffindor table, and Max hopped off the stool and made his way towards the table. People began to chuckle, for Max had forgotten to take the hat off.

"Mr. Dursley, I'm going to need that hat, please." The headmistress said, with a small smile barely visible on her face. Max's cheeks turned bright red as he brought the hat back up to the witch.

"Cox, Finis," the headmistress said.

A short, chubby boy with jet black hair made his way up to the stool. He wasn't the kind of boy who looked like he was good at making friends. The sorting hat was placed on his head.

"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat yelled, barely touching the boy's head.

"Weasley, Rose." The headmistress called.

"Weasley, Weasley, Weasley. I don't even know why the bother to put the sorting hat on you redheaded bunch. GRYFFINDOR!" The sorting hat yelled. Albus looked as his cousin with envy, he wish he was called into Gryffindor. With any luck, this torture would end soon so he could take a deep breath. Rose walked by Albus and gave him a small smile and a thumbs up.

"Potter, Albus." The headmistress called.

This was it. This was the end, Albus knew he was going to be sorted into Slytherin, he just knew. Slughorn didn't seem so bad, but Finis Cox, now there's a boy he wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Albus made his way up to the stool, as the witch placed the hat on his head. It felt itchy and scratchy, and smelled of burning hair.

"Hmmm. Potter. I believe I sorted a Potter last year, oh yes. You're different though, you remind me of someone, who is it? Your father I believe, oh yes. If I recall he was just as nervous as you are now. Well don't worry; I won't torture you with the anticipation. GRYFFINDOR!" The sorting hat yelled.

Albus' heart stopped. Gryffindor, he was in Gryffindor, not Slytherin. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of him. He jumped off of the stool, and ran towards the Gryffindor table, where he noticed his brother; James was standing up, clapping, and making the most noise.

"Way to go, BROOO!" James said, high-fiving Albus.

"I really thought I was going to be put in Slytherin." Albus said, shaking his head.

"Naw, Mum and Dad were both Gryffindor, everyone in our family is or was. I knew you'd be with us." James said, matter-of-factly.

"Then why'd you try to scare me into thinking I was going to be in Slytherin?!" Albus asked, irritated.

"I'm your brother…" James said, as though it were an obvious answer.

"Who's that witch, anyways, the headmistress? I thought we had a headmaster." Albus said, confused.

"McGonagall. I guess Mum and Dad had her in school when Dumbledore was headmaster. She isn't so bad; she wasn't too hard on me during detention last year." James said.

"Can you believe we're both in Gryffindor, Albus, this is great!" Rose said to Albus. He smiled at Rose and looked at max who was sitting with a huge smile on his face. Albus started to wonder if Max did anything but smile.

After Albus was sorted into Gryffindor, he stopped paying attention to the ceremony. A few more people came over to the Gryffindor table, a redhead girl named Olivia Becket and a blonde boy named Scorpius Malfoy, among some others. After the sorting, McGonagall did something with the flick of her wand, and food appeared on all the tables. Albus was starving, he hadn't eaten anything since the morning, and he didn't eat a lot then. He began to fill his plate with chicken, mashed potatoes, and everything except vegetables. He wolfed it all down, trying to enjoy the flavor as well.

"Wait until my father finds out I was sorted into Gryffindor," a blonde boy named Scorpius began to say. "Everyone in my family has been a Slytherin since the school came into existence. He'll probably demand that I be re-sorted." Scorpius said.

"I'm not exactly sure how to get in touch with my parents, actually." Max said, a smile fading from his face for the first time.

"Do you have an owl?" Rose asked Max.

"No, I wanted to get one, but my father said his parents had a bad experience with an owl, and they were already freaked out that I'm a wizard." Max said, looking depressed.

"You can use my owl, Gizmo." Rose said, smiling at Max.

"Really?" Max said, a smile creeping up to his face.

"Sure, then you can send letters to your parents." Rose said.

Max smiled at Rose, then let out a huge yawn.

"I'm exhausted, I hope we can go to bed soon." Max stated.

Max said exactly what Albus was thinking. He was exhausted too. He hadn't slept well for the last few nights, afraid of being put in Slytherin. Albus almost wished there were no classes the next day, so that he could sleep in. By the time dessert appeared on the table, Albus was too full and too tired to take another bite. He yawned, not caring to cover his mouth and rubbed his eyes. He was happy to see people getting up and going towards the door. He went to get up, when a hand grabbed his robe and pulled him back.

"Sorry, Buddy, all first years have to wait until their prefects call them." The boy said.

Oh great, he'd probably be here all night.

"First year Gryffindors, follow me!" A voice called from down the table.

Albus, Rose, and Max got up, along with the other new Gryffindors. They had no idea where they were going, but they blindly followed the people in front of them up seven flights of (moving) staircases, two corridors, and a small chamber with nothing but a portrait of a fat lady.

"Password?" The portrait asked.

"Dragon eggs." The male prefect replied.

The portrait swung open and revealed a cozy room with two fireplaces and comfortable couches. Albus walked in and looked around. It was warm and cozy, with lanterns hanging from the doorways.

"Attention, first years," A male prefect with shoulder length dark hair started. "I'm Teddy, your prefect, and this is your other prefect, Victore. This is the Gryffindor common room. Many students do their homework in here and such. Boy's dormitory is up the staircase on your left, girl's on your right. You'll notice your luggage has been brought up for you, good night." Teddy said.

Albus felt like an idiot. He knew Teddy. It was Teddy Lupin, his god-brother. Victore was his cousin, that's how he realized he knew Teddy. Albus hoped his temporary anxiety and amnesia was over, now that he had been sorted into Gryffindor. He walked up the staircase, and into his dormitory with Max. There were five four-poster beds with curtains and trunks. Next to his trunk was an assortment of Gryffindor ties, mittens, and scarves. Albus smiled, took Beau out of his sweater and made him a hammock out of the curtains hanging from his bed. Albus walked over to the window and looked out of it, watching the moon glisten off of the lake. He knew he would be happy at Hogwarts.


	4. The Letter from Hagrid

**Chapter Four: The Letter from Hagrid**

As Albus looked out his window onto the lake, he felt free at last. He was in Gryffindor, he had made a new friend, and Hogwarts seemed like a happy place to learn and make friends. Albus was so tired; he didn't bother to change out of his uniform, and went straight to bed.

Albus was walking down a dark corridor with tile walls, he felt cold, wet, and angry. He wanted justice. He wanted to feel his enemy suffer. Albus saw his reflection in the tile walls. Who was that? It certainly wasn't him. His reflection walked up to the glass tiles and touched it. He had long, black, fingernails, and dirty, slimy skin. Who was this person? He turned back down towards the corridor and came to a black door. His wand was drawn, and he somehow knew what to do though he had never performed magic through a wand before. Albus hesitated, and then pointed the wand towards the door. Just as he lifted his wand to cast a spell, a firm hand grabbed his from behind.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Albus screamed.

"Whoa, calm down!" Max said, jumping back a few feet.

"What is it?" Albus asked, noticing that he had just awoken from a bad dream. He looked around and saw that the other boys stopped getting dressed to stare at his antics.

"I was just letting you know that it's time to get up," Max said, still standing away from Albus at a distance.

"Oh, err, thanks." Albus said, getting up.

Albus looked at himself in the mirror, he was wearing the exact same clothes as the day before, only they were wrinkled and messy. Albus pulled off his trunks and sweater, putting a clean one on for the day. He grabbed a tie, struggling to put it on once again.

"I couldn't get mine on either," Max said.

"We better go find Rose." Albus said, trying to show a small smile towards Max.

Albus and Max grabbed their robes and ties and headed down towards the dormitory. A crowd of first year Gryffindors was huddled around a giant bulletin board. Just as Albus and Max approached the bulletin board, Rose came out and greeted them.

"We have Herbology with Professor Longbottom first." Rose said. "We're with Slytherin." Rose said, twitching her nose in distaste.

"Oh, err that's good, um, Rose could you help us with our ties?" Albus asked desperately.

"Ugh, I don't really see how you're going to do well here if you can't even dress yourself." Rose said, grabbing the tie from Albus and making it a little too tight for comfort.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" Albus asked Rose, getting irritated.

"I'm not, but seriously Al, learn how to put a tie on." Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, Max, don't worry, I'll do that for you." Rose chirped at Max.

Max had been attempting to put his own tie on when Rose started yelling at Albus.

"Oh, uh, that's okay; I don't want to bother you." Max said, trying not to look Rose in the eye.

"Nonsense, let me get that for you. It's one thing for a wizard not to be able to put a tie on, I mean everyone in our family has gone to Hogwarts. But a muggleborn on the other hand, well you guys don't wear ties so it's only natural for you not to know how." Rose said to Max.

Albus decided not to correct Rose on her incredible inaccuracy. He was pretty sure she knew that muggles wore ties; she was just being extra nice towards Max for some unknown reason. By the looks of it, Max wasn't about to correct her either.

"Thanks, Rosie." Max said, making Rose blush.

"It's no problem," Rose said, smiling back at Max.

Albus and Max grabbed their books and headed down the staircase. It was a beautiful day outside, and Albus couldn't wait to start Herbology. He loved how he would be having his mum and dad's friend as a teacher, maybe he would go easy on him. Albus and Max walked towards the Great Hall to eat breakfast. It smelled delicious; there were pancakes, bacon, sausage, and everything in between. Everything looked wonderful, so Albus and Max took their seats with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Mind if I take a seat here?" A voice said coming from behind Albus.

"Not at all," Albus said, smiling at the boy.

"Scorpius Malfoy," The boy said, holding out his hand towards Albus, then to Max.

"I'm Al, and this is Max." Albus said, shaking Scorpius' hand.

"Nice place, isn't it?" Scorpius said. "It's a lot bigger than I imagined it would be. My dad and mum went here as well as their mums and dads. Everyone in my family's been in Slytherin, I almost hope my parents don't get the Sorting Hat Ceremony notice that they send out to everyone's family." Scorpius said, the nervousness obvious in his voice.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Albus said. "Your parents will be proud of you no matter what," Max said.

"I don't think so," Scorpius said. "You haven't met my family; they're sort of...judgmental lunatics."

"Well, hahahaha, you should meet my family if you think yours is bad. My grandparents almost DIED when I told them I would be going to Hogwarts. It was like they knew of the place, it was strange. My grandmother had to go to the hospital because she was hyperventilating so much." Max said, as he laughed.

The three boys continued to eat and talk as the morning went on. Albus noticed that Rose was sitting with a group of new Gryffindors, though she was reading while they were all talking. Albus hoped Rose wouldn't become known as the socially awkward girl who was only known to be book smart. As Albus ate, he noticed a bunch of owls flying down to the tables dropping various packages to new students. Albus noticed his dad's owl, Snowball, approaching him.

Snowball dropped three envelops in front of Albus and flew off towards Rose and Albus with more letter. Albus looked at Scorpius and noticed his hands were shaking; he must have received letters from his family that he was too afraid to open. Albus looked at poor Max who had nothing in front of him to open. Though Max was smiling, he had an obvious look of sadness in his eyes. Albus looked at his letters, and decided to open the first one.

Dear Al,

Your mother and I are very proud of you for making Gryffindor! We knew you could do it and had nothing to worry about. We hope you are having a great time and are learning a lot. Your mother asked me to remind you to eat your vegetable and do ALL of your homework

Hoping all is well,

Mum & Dad

Albus smiled to himself, his parents were proud of him. He decided to open his next letter.

Dear Albus,

Your parents informed us that you made Gryffindor! Congratulations, we're so proud of you! Hope you are having a good time, and hope to hear from you soon.

Love always,

Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron

Albus smiled to himself once again, and opened the third letter.

Dear Albus,

I just wanted to let you know that I can't have you, James, and Rose over for tea at 3pm because I am teaching a class. I would love to have you come around 9pm, if you can though.

Sincerely,

Hagrid

Albus tucked his letters into his pocket. He didn't know how he was going to sneak out of the castle at 9 o'clock, but he'd figure that out later. He was sure his brothers James had done it plenty of times, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Albus looked at Max, who was now eating an apple very loudly, probably to distract himself from the fact that he had no mail. Albus' attention turned towards Scorpius, who still had a petrified look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Albus asked Scorpius with concern.

"Read this." Scorpius pushed his letter towards Albus to read.

Scorpius,

We were informed by the school that you were sorted into Gryffindor; this must be some sort of mistake. Your grandfather and I are already taking this to the ministry, but until then, you can sit and interact with the Slytherins, we've sent a letter to McGonagall explaining this. Under no conditions are you to make friends with any Gryffindors until this problem is resolved. We don't blame you for this, don't worry.

Try not to worry about this,

Love,

Dad and Mum

Albus read the letter four times before he believed what he was seeing. How could Scorpius' parents really behave like this, he was their son, after all. Scorpius looked a mess; it looked like his whole world had been turned upside down. Albus looked up to see McGonagall coming their way.

"Mr. Malfoy, I know you didn't send this letter, but I want you to know that you ARE IN GRYFFINDOR despite what your parents might tell you. The Sorting Hat Ceremony has been taking place for thousands of years and has never miss-sorted somebody, so you will remain in Gryffindor. I will be having a word with your parents." McGonagall said, walking away briskly.

Albus looked at Scorpius, he looked a little better, but still very pale. His parents didn't want him making any friends with Gryffindors; Albus wondered what he would do. He smiled at Scorpius, but Scorpius didn't smile back. Albus wondered if he was actually going to listen to his parents.

"We can still be friends, right?" Scorpius asked.

"Of course," Albus said relieved.

Max, Scorpius, and Albus got up and started walking towards the door. Albus didn't know much about the school yet, but he did know one thing. Other students' families were A LOT stranger than his…


	5. First Day of Classes

**Chapter Five: First Day of Classes **

Albus, Max, and Scorpius walked down the pathway to the greenhouses. It was the perfect day for a Herbology class. The weather was nice, the air was cool, and every first year was eager to do magic. Albus was excited because he knew his professor, and he hoped this would be an opportunity for an easy O (Outstanding).

The first year Gryffindors and Slytherins lined up outside the gates that led into the greenhouses and gardens. Professor Longbottom was not there yet.

"Oh hey, Albus how are you?" Said a familiar voice.

Albus turned around to see a pretty blonde staring back at him, wearing Slytherin robes and ties. It was Gabby.

"_You're_ in Slytherin?" Albus asked, somewhat shocked and disappointed.

"Yeah…weren't you watching the ceremony?" Gabby asked, insulted.

"Err, well, yeah," Albus said, unconvincingly.

"Do you have a problem with me being in Slytherin?" Gabby asked, sounding irritated.

"Oh no, no," Albus lied. "I just thought you had been sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Oh, haha, well no, I wasn't. Have you met Finis?" Gabby asked, directing for Finis to come stand by her.

"Um, no, I don't believe we've met," Albus said, trying not to choke on his words as Finis invaded his personal space.

Finis Cox did not look like the type of person any normal person would want to be friends with. He had jet black hair and was chubby, but that was hardly an issue. Finis looked like the type of person that would push an elderly person down the stairs or take pumpkin juice from a baby, just for his own amusement. He had big, pudgy arms and a look on his face that could stop a train. He looked like bad news.

"What are you doing talking to these losers? They're Gryffindors." Finis grunted.

Albus was insulted, but he wasn't about to pick a fight with Finis Cox, he only wished Max would have done the same.

"I'd rather be a loser than a jerk." Max said, shocking Albus.

"What did you say to me?!" Finis asked Max, anger rushing to his face.

"Drop it, Max." Albus pleaded.

"Well, you don't even know us and you're calling us losers just because we're in a different house than you." Max said, nervousness hidden in his voice.

"I don't deal with Gryffindors or Mudbloods, and I sure as hell don't deal with BOTH." Finis said, pushing his sleeves up as if he were about to give Max a beating.

Without thinking, Albus pulled out his wand and shoved it in Finis' face. Not that he knew any spells, but Albus hoped he would look intimidating enough to keep Finis away from Max.

"Hahaha, are you serious?" Finis asked mockingly. "You don't even know how to use that thing!" Finis laughed loudly. Albus was disappointed to see Gabby laughing along with him

Finis pulled out his wand and shoved it in Albus' face.

"You want to see real magic?" Finis grinned creepily. "My parents have been teaching me magic for years with their wands, I could suck the life out of you if I wanted to." Finis said, whispering so only Albus, Max, and Gabby could hear him.

Finis lifted his wand, about to cast a spell, when Rose pulled out her wand and pointed it at him.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Rose yelled, causing Finis' wand to fly out of sight.

"YOU LITTLE-," Finis yelled at Rose, grabbing the front of her robes.

Albus punched Finis, causing him to loosen his grip on Rose. Professor Longbottom was right behind him.

"What's going on here?!" Professor Longbottom demanded.

"Finis grabbed Rose, and Albus was just defending her," Scorpius said, defending Albus.

Albus gave Scorpius a nod in appreciation.

"Finis Cox, go see Professor McGonagall immediately. 50 points from Slytherin." Professor Longbottom said, a vein bulging from his neck.

"But she used magic on me first!" Finis argued.

"Well I didn't see that part, but I did see you assault a girl, and you will be punished for that. Off to Professor McGonagall now, before I make it 100 points." Professor Longbottom said.

Finis stomped off towards the castle in anger, stopping to whisper in Albus' ear first.

"You'll be sorry for this, Potter. Mark my words, and next time you won't have a girl and a teacher to protect you." Finis said, smirking.

Albus watched Finis walk up to the castle. He had no doubt Finis would get him back, and he had no doubt that Finis would actually win this time. Albus watched Finis bend over and pick something up, it must have been his wand. If Finis really did know magic, then Albus was screwed. Why did Max have to open his mouth?

"Are you okay, Miss Weasley?" Professor Longbottom asked Rose.

"Yes, thank you, Sir." Rose replied.

"Alright. Well if we're all set, then follow me into Greenhouse 2 please." Professor Longbottom said.

The students proceeded into the greenhouse, and set their supplies up at the tables. Gabby walked by Albus, shoving his shoulder as she went by. He didn't mind so much that she was in Slytherin, but if she hung around people like Finis Cox, it was better to stay away from her. She gave Max a dirty look, and Albus swore he heard her mutter "_Mudblood_" under her breath.

Albus was wrong about Herbology being easy. Though Professor Longbottom did show slight favoritism when it came to Finis Cox, Albus was now positive that he would get no special treatment for being the son of one of his best friend. Professor Longbottom didn't give too much hard work on the first day, but he did teach everyone a new spell on how to cut plants properly. He had everyone practice the spells on their plants, but a when a few people ended up cutting their fingers and hands open, Professor Longbottom told everyone to stop.

"Students, students, please! For the last time, it isn't Diffinido, or Difinno, its DIFFINDO!" Professor Longbottom said. "I don't understand you all to get it the first time, but I do expect you to pay attention and exercise caution while performing any type of dangerous spell. Now, can anyone show the class how this spell is properly done?"

Rose' hand shot up into the air. Big surprise.

"Miss Weasley, go ahead." Professor Longbottom said.

"_Diffindo!"_ Rose shouted, as her tentactula tore neatly in half.

"Excellent, excellent, 20 points to Gryffindor!" Professor Longbottom said. "Now, class, I would like you to practice this spell before next class, but please not inside the castle. Feel free to go into Greenhouse 4 and use any plants in the back, those are reserved for practice and experimentation. Good job today everyone. Class dismissed."

Albus walked out of the greenhouse worrying that he would run into Finis as soon as he went outside. Thankfully he didn't, and he had Flying Lessons with first year Hufflepuffs. Max and Scorpius walked by Albus' side in case Finis jumped out and decided to beat him up there. Albus was grateful for friends, and the emotional support, but he felt that he might be better off with Rose watching his back, funny enough.

Albus and his friends made their way to the flying pitch after lunch. It was starting to get cloudy and windy, a slightly less than perfect way to learn to fly. When they got to the field, their professor was standing with a The Daily Prophet over his head, for it began to drizzle.

"Good afternoon class, I'll be your flying instructor and Quiddich staff here at Hogwarts. My name is Professor Wood and I'm sure you're all anxious to fly, but unfortunately we're going to have to postpone our first lesson until tomorrow night-I don't want anyone having any accidents because of poor weather." Professor Wood said.

A number of groans came from the students, especially Albus. Of all the classes he had wanted to try, he had been most excited about flying. He had flown once before on his father's old broom, and it felt great. He loved the way the wind felt on his face as he soared through the air. He was disappointed he had to wait a whole day before flying.

Because flying was canceled, Albus walked back up towards the castle with Scorpius and Max. There wouldn't be much to do because they had no other classes planned for the day, so Albus decided he would try to get a nap in before dinner and his late night meeting with Hagrid. Just as Albus was walking back up to the school, he saw Finis trudging down the corridor with Gabby. Trying to avoid confrontation, Albus tried to turn around, but it was too late. He felt an uncomfortable tug at the back of his robe. It was as he thought, Finis.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Mudblood, Bloodtraitor, and tough little Gryffindor." Finis said. "I've thought about how you're going to make this up to me." Finis said, pointing to his shiny new bruise around his eye. Albus knew that he had caused it.

"We don't owe you anything." Max said confidently.

For once, Albus wished Max would shut up. Ignoring Max, Finis continued.

"I'm assuming you know where the second floor is, eh Potter? Well tomorrow night at 12am, you and me are going to have a little duel in the corridor behind the Hogwarts' Crest Tapestry. Two days should give you enough time to prepare yourself. If you don't come, you will be sorry. Oh, and none of your little sidekicks, come alone." Finis said, walking away with Gabby.

"You can't go, Albus." Max said.

"What choice do I have?" Albus asked desperately.

"We'll go with you." Scorpius said.

"You heard what Finis said, I have to go alone." Albus said, scared.

"Well, we'll hide then. You can't go alone." Max said, trying to be helpful.

"We'll see." Albus said, planning to ditch them when the time came.

Albus, Max, and Scorpius walked back to the Common Room after their encounter with Finis. Albus wasn't planning to tell them about sneaking out tonight to see Hagrid, but he did wish he could talk to James before. He didn't even know how he was going to go out unnoticed. Albus put his head down on his pillow thinking about everything that had happened in the last day. Just 24 hours ago, he was afraid he would be put in Slytherin, and now he was planning to duel a Slytherin in just over 24 hours. Albus was glad he had made friends to support him, but he wished he hadn't made such vicious enemy. Albus shut his eyes, trying to block out the world. He had only been at Hogwarts for one day, and his life was already getting complicated.

_Thank you for all the viewers who have read my depiction of JK Rowling's Harry Potter up to this point. I hope you are enjoying it. Please leave your comments and reviews to let me know what you think so far. I will be putting more chapters up ASAP._


	6. The Cloak of Invisibilty

**Chapter Six: The Cloak of Invisibility **

#####

_Albus had made his way to the door. It felt cold and brassy, it seemed like it could be open with just a simple push. He pushed the door but nothing happened. He lifted his wand and pointed it at the door. Albus didn't know any real magic, but somehow it didn't matter, he knew what to do. He lifted his wand and cast a spell at the door. _

"_Alohomora!" he yelled, causing the door to unlock. _

_Albus walked through the doorway. The air was cold and damp, and smelled of burning wood. Albus walked further into the room. There were piles of human bones everywhere, but this didn't scare him in the least. Poor fools, Albus thought to himself. They obviously didn't take precautions. Albus walked towards the end of the room, where a skeleton had its bony fingers wrapped around a small, blue gas-like ball. Bingo. _

_##### _

"Hey, hey, Albus, hey, hey." A familiar voice said.

Albus woke up to see his brother James face just three inches from his.

"What-the-?" Albus began to say, as a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Comon, we gutta go. Its 8:30, Hagrid wants to see us, remember?" James whispered.

Albus quickly rose out of bed and looked in the mirror. He was a mess. He needed a bath desperately; maybe he could take one after they got back from Hagrid's. He combed his hair in the mirror and threw some water on his face. He looked a little better. Albus looked around and saw Max and Scorpius in their beds, sleeping. The two other beds lay unoccupied at the moment. James grabbed Albus' wand and threw it to him, and grabbed his sleeve to pull him outside onto the staircase. Before Albus left, he noticed Beau was stretched out on his pillow taking a nap. All that ferret did was sleep.

James pulled Albus onto the staircase and shut the door. Albus could hear talking coming from the common room, how would they sneak by all those people? James directed Albus further up the staircase and pulled him into another room. It must have been a dormitory for older years.

"How many rooms do they have?" Albus asked groggily.

"Seven for boys, seven for girls, according to your year." James said. "But that's beside the point. We have to go in a couple minutes, I told Rose to meet us up here."

"Rose? In a boy's dormitory?" Albus asked. "Why does Hagrid want to see us this late anyways, and how are we even going to get out without being seen?" Albus whined, exhausted and irritated from the day's activities.

A smile crept onto James' face.

"Well, last year Hagrid only told me to sneak out if it was really important so-…" James began to say.

"He made you do this last year? How did you even sneak out?" Albus asked, cutting James off.

"Will you shut up and listen? Hagrid only made me come late if it was like, really important, so I'm guessing it's pretty serious if he's having us sneak around our first day back, or you know, your first day." James said. "And don't worry about getting around, I've got this." James said, pulling a large cloak out of his robes.

James handed Albus the robe. It was shiny and slippery, reminding Albus of a liquid silvery type of cloth. He had never seen anything like this before.

"Okay?" Albus said, questionly.

James took the cloak back and threw it over himself. He was completely invisible.

"WHOA!" Albus exclaimed.

"Pretty cool, ain't it? James said, smirking, as he took the cloak off.

"Where did you get it?!" Albus asked, amazed.

"I, uh, I borrowed it from someone," James said, looking away and scratching his head.

Just as Albus was trying the cloak on, the door to the dormitory began to open. Albus panicked, throwing the cloak back to James. It was only Rose.

"Hey, guys." Rose said, coming in and closing the door.

"Rose, its only you." Albus said, still nervous someone would walk in on them.

"Well yeah, no one goes to bed at 8 o'clock, Al." Rose said, in a matter of fact. "By the way, Al, are you ready for your duel with Finis Cox tomorrow?"

A little piece of Albus died inside. He had completely forgotten about his duel with Finis. Not only did he not know any magic, but Finis was going to _destroy_ him, he just knew it. Just as Albus was having his little panic attack, James and Rose burst out laughing.

"And what may I ask is so funny?" Albus asked, getting annoyed.

"Al, Finis Cox is a big idiot. He can't even tie his own shoes." James said, tears from laughter forming in his eyes.

"He doesn't need shoes to _kill_ me, _James_, and how do you know anything about Finis Cox?" Albus asked, anger creeping up into his face.

"Because his brother is in my year. Those Coxes act like their so tough and strong, but they're really not." James said.

"Well considering he knows any magic, and he could squish me without any effort, I still don't like my chances." Albus said, looking down at the floor.

"Albus, Albus, Albus…" James said, stepping over towards Albus and putting his arm around his shoulder. "What do you think Mum and Dad would say if I let you battle Cox all by yourself? I'll be coming with you. I'll teach you the basic duel spells, and I'll be hiding under this little baby the whole time, in case things get out of hand." James said, twirling parts of the cloak between his fingers.

"Finis said I have to go alone." Albus said.

"Pshh, yeah he said that so he could beat you. You don't actually think he'll be going alone, do you? He'll have his brother, Darian, there with him to do spells on you. I'll be under the cloak; he won't even know I'm there." James said, patting his brother on the shoulder.

"Guys are such idiots." Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, well, maybe you'll understand the concept and respect earning benefits on dueling one day, Rose. Shall we get going?" James said.

Albus and Rose nodded their heads and the three of them slid under the cloak. It was roomy enough, but it was hard to stand so close to one another without stepping on one another or tripping. James led the way down the stairs and past several chatty Gryffindors. He looked over his shoulder quickly to make sure no one was watching as the three kids walked through the portrait hole. He didn't need Teddy or Victore investigating.

Rose, Albus, and James walked through the corridor. It was empty, and dark, with just the sounds of the wind hitting the windows making noise. James stopped and pulled out an old piece of parchment.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked.

"SHHH!" James said to Albus. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." James whispered.

Albus watched as the parchment lid up with writing and symbols. It looked like some sort of map.

"What is that?" Albus demanded.

"Keep your voice down, it's a map of the school that tells me where people are in relation to us." James said.

"First of all, there's no one here, second, where are you getting all this stuff." Albus asked, getting a bad feeling.

"I told you, I borrowed it. And by the way, this corridor is swarming with prefects and teachers, so keep your voice down!" James whispered, showing Albus that there were prefects listed on the map.

Albus did what he was told and remained quiet, but he was pretty sure he knew where all of James' gadgets were coming from. He was pretty sure he had seen the invisibility cloak in his dad's office at some point. Albus hoped that he wouldn't be the one blamed when his parents found out.

James, Rose, and Albus snuck past several prefects on the seventh floor. When they got to the staircase, it was quiet except for an annoying sounding laughing noise coming from above.

"Ooooh, what do we have here, do I hear some sneaky inkling first years sneaking around at nighty whitey?" An annoying voice asked.

Albus looked up and saw a ghost-like object floating around, looking to see where he may be. He started to panic, until James opened his mouth.

"Peeves, you wouldn't want to disturb the Bloody Baron, now, would you?" James said in a voice, much deeper than his own.

"Oh, Mr. Baron, so sorry, Peeves, here was just on his way!" Peeves said, floating away.

"Peeves. He's a poltergeist. Annoying, but harmless." James whispered.

Rose and Albus nodded their heads and continued down the staircase. They ran into no teachers, prefects, or poltergeists on the way down, but they weren't in the clear just yet. James slowly opened the door leading into the main entrance, and Albus' worst fear happened. The door creaked loudly as the trio ran through it. Luckily no one was there to hear it, but they had caused enough noise for the slimy old caretaker to come out of his office.

"Who's there?" A raggedy voice yelled.

Albus, Rose, and James backed into a corner, huddling together under the cloak. The caretaker had a lantern in one hand, a cat in the other. He had long, greasy, gray hair, and a face that looked like someone had stepped on it. He walked right by the trio without noticing a thing. Within seconds of the caretaker passing, James signaled for the Rose and Albus to make a run for the door under the cloak. On the count of three, they made a run for the door.

The caretaker spun around quickly to see what the loud commotion was, but he could see nothing, for the three kids were under the cloak. All the caretaker could see was the large, oak, front doors opening without cause. This caused him to scratch his greasy head.

Albus, Rose, and James ran out the door as quickly as possible. They knew it was only a matter of time before the caretaker realized what happened, and would come running through the front door. The three kids walked down the stairs and hid behind a statue of a giant lion before they took the cloak off.

"Who was that?" Albus asked.

"Filch. He's the caretaker; don't want to be caught by him." James said. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his map. "_Mischief managed_." The writing on the map quickly disappeared into a plain piece of parchment once again.

Once the three kids were positive they weren't being followed, they walked towards Hagrid's Hut. His lights were on, and they smelled the familiar smell of wood burning. Just as they were about to knock on Hagrid's door, they heard voices behind the door.

"I told ye, no one's coming. I'm making meself a cup o' tea." Hagrid said.

"That better be true, Hagrid, I wouldn't want to have to report you again." A familiar voice said. The children heard a sort of high pitched giggle after the voice spoke.

"Report me, then. I've done nothing wrong." Hagrid said.

"Not yet," said the high pitched voice. "Just remember Hagrid, we're always watching."

Albus, James, and Rose hid behind a bush as Hagrid's door swung open. To their surprise, the children saw their Uncle Percy walking out of Hagrid's hut with a short woman, wearing all pink, and having a face that resembled a toad. Albus didn't know what was going on, but he was sure going to find out.

_Thank you for reading, and please leave your comments and reviews as to what you think so far!_


	7. The Conspiracy

Chapter Seven: The Conspiracy

Albus, Rose, and James crept quietly behind the bush. Their Uncle Percy was standing just a few feet away. If he caught them not only would they be in a boatload of trouble, but they ran the risk of losing multiple points for Gryffindor. Albus didn't recognize the toad-like woman standing next to his uncle, but something about her gave him a bad feeling. Though she was covered from head to toe in bright pink clothes, something about her gave Albus the chills.

Albus could hear his uncle talking to the woman, but he didn't know what they were saying. Just as Albus was about to give up on eavesdropping, Rose pulled out something that resembled a large ear on a string out of her robe.

"Extendable ear," Rose whispered. "Uncle George gave it to me."

Though Albus wouldn't deny that his Uncle George gave all his nephews and nieces cool stuff, he was surprised that he would give Rose something used to spy on people, and he was even more surprised that she accepted it. Rose held the ear towards Percy and the woman as Albus and James huddled closer to listen in.

"Don't worry, he'll be out soon. Just a matter of time now." Percy said.

"Oh, I know he will. I had this discussion with him many years ago, only, well, let's just say there were too many obstacles; Harry Potter being one of them." The frog-like woman said.

"Unfortunately, you're right. Though I have to applaud my brother-in-law for some of the things he did, he was the face of rebellion. In some ways, he still is. We need to figure out what Hagrid knows soon or it may be too late. It wouldn't surprise me if he were to tell my nieces and nephews what was going on, we may be able to find out through them."

"Yes, true, but do you think they'll talk?"

"Maybe. We could probably manipulate them into indirectly telling us. I don't think Rose would fall for this tactic though. I'm not sure about Albus either; James is probably our best bet."

"Then it's settled. We'll talk to this Jason fellow." The frog-like woman said, brushing a curly grayish-brown strand of hair out of her face.

"Right…" Percy said. "Anyways, I best be going. I'm supposed to be at the Ministry for a briefing."

"Of course," the woman said. "Make sure you let me know what they decide, won't you? I'm counting on you."

Percy nodded and turned to walk towards the path by the lake. He was probably going to Hogsmeade so he could apparate back to London. The frog-like woman wrinkled her nose in distaste as she looked at Hagrid's hut and turned to walk into the dark forest. She walked so close to the bush the trio were hidden in, that Albus could smell her sickly-sweet perfume. The three kids waited for a few minutes until they were sure no one was watching before they climbed out of the bush. They walked up the steps to Hagrid's hut and knocked three times.

Hagrid came to the door with a crossbow pointed directly at the trio. Rose let out a little shriek of horror.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were some'ne else." Hagrid said, as he let the trio come in.

Albus, Rose, and James quickly darted into Hagrid's hut. Rose walked over to all the windows and drew the curtains; she wanted to be sure no one was watching.

"Can I get ye three a cup o' tea?" Hagrid asked, taking a whistling kettle off of the stove.

"Hagrid, what was our uncle doing here?" Rose asked, ignoring Hagrid's question.

"Eh." Hagrid sighed. "Tha's what I called ye for. I wanted to warn ye three before they got to ye."

The room was silent. Hagrid poured four cups of tea and walked over to the three kids.

"Well, as ye know, yer parents work for the Ministry of Magic. They're in pretty high places too, if ye know wha' I mean," Hagrid began. "About 25 years ago, the Ministry was corrupt. Tha' woman you saw, her name is Umbridge, Delores Umbridge."

"UMBRIDGE?! My mom prosecuted her! She was put on trial for crimes against muggleborns. My mom said she was stripped of her wand and sent to Azkaban." Rose said, hardly breathing.

"Tha's right, she was. She was sent to Azkaban Prison about 19 years ago, sent to serve a 30 year sentence. Of course, she was released about four years ago; they only made her serve half her sentence. Nonetheless, she was still stripped of her wand, so I don't exactly know where she got another one." Hagrid said.

"How do you know she did get another wand?" Albus asked.

"I'm just assumin'," Hagrid said. "She's been here a couple of times, some by herself, other times with yer three's uncle. I'm assumin' she apparated in, and ye need a wand to do tha'."

"We saw her go into the forest." James said.

"Righ', well, as I said I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure she got her hands on a new wand. Whether she stole it, won it, or found it, I don' know."

"So what's this about Hagrid, why were they here?" Rose asked.

"Well, I don't know if you three are aware, but yer Uncle Percy's runnin' for Minister of Magic." Hagrid said.

The trio all looked at each other, questionly.

"Tha's right." Hagrid said. "He believes that the Ministry needs to be reformed, tha' it isn't runnin' at full capacity. The thing is, he wants Umbridge as his second in command."

"What?..." James asked. "How can that even be allowed? Who would vote for them after what she's done?"

"Thing is, she's convinced a lot o' people tha' she's changed for the better. She says that her time in Azkaban taught her a lesson." Hagrid said, rolling his eyes.

"But, you can't believe that?" Albus asked.

"O' course I don't believe tha' bull. You mark my words, tha' woman is pure evil, and will stop at nothing to resume her post in power. Unfortunately, yer uncle worked with her and actually respects her. He believes she made a mistake, but he knows she knows how to pull the politics in her favor. I gotta be honest too, I almost thought she had him under the Imperious Curse." Hagrid said.

"Why is he doing this?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"All I can think of, is she can give him something he's always been hungry for, power. Your uncle is seriously misguided and thinks he's doing the righ' thing. As the top candidate for Minister, reforming Hogwarts is his first priority." Hagrid said. "Tha's why they're tryin' to get rid o' me. They view me as a threat. They know I was noble to Dumbledore, and they know I'm loyal to McGonagall. Umbridge has never liked her." Hagrid said.

"Hagrid, we heard them say that our father is a threat." Albus said, looking at James and then Hagrid.

"Doesn't surprise me. Umbridge views all yer parents as threats; they helped to overturn her when she was temporarily named as headmistress. Hermione prosecuted her, after yer parents brought down Voldemort." Hagrid said in a very serious tone.

"What does this mean? What's going to happen?" Rose asked, anxiety in her voice.

"Well, for now, probably nothin'. I do assume yer uncle will win the election, then things will start changin'. They'll definitely come after me, in which case I will be gone. I wanted you to hear this from me. Don' trust 'em. Neither of 'em, not even yer uncle. If he talks to ye, ye know nothin'. Don't accept anythin' from his either. No drinks, especially."

The three kids exchanged puzzled looks. Why would Uncle Percy give them anything to drink?

"And listen, whatever you do, don't-…" Hagrid began to say, as he was cut off by a loud knock at the door.

The three kids exchanged nervous glances.

"Under the cloak," Hagrid whispered.

The three kids hurried under the cloak and backed into a corner. This could not be good. Hagrid opened the door, revealing Mr. Filch standing on the front porch.

"Argus…" Hagrid said.

"Who's here?" Filch asked.

"I'm here all by meself, with Fang o' course…" Hagrid began to say.

Filch walked into Hagrid's hut, uninvited.

"I heard voices."

"I was just talkin' to Fang, here. I do tha' sometimes."

"Who's the tea for?" Filch asked, ignoring Hagrid.

"Percy Weasley and Umbridge came by again."

Albus hoped Filch wouldn't notice there was one to many cups of tea. Surprisingly, Filch's demeanor seemed to change when Hagrid mentioned Umbridge.

"Delores was here?" Filch asked, blushing.

"Yep, pink bow and all." Hagrid replied.

"Did she say anything about me?" Filch asked, almost pleading.

"She said to say hi." Hagrid lied.

Filch blushed and turned back towards the door.

"I thought I saw a couple of kids wondering around a little while ago. If you see anyone, bring them to me." Filch said, looking at Hagrid and closing the door.

"O' course. Bye now." Hagrid said, waving at Filch as he left.

Albus, Rose, and James waited until Filch had been gone several minutes before they took the cloak off.

"Ye three best be off," Hagrid said. "Don' want ye to get caught. I'll send messages to ye when we should meet again. Remember, don't trust anyone except yerselves, McGonagall and yer parents. Things are gunna be changin', and when they do, we best be prepared."

"Bye, Hagrid." Rose said, as the trio walked out the door.

The three kids walked down Hagrid's steps as James pulled the invisibility cloak out, about to throw it over them. Just as James was throwing the cloak over them, he felt a hard hand at the back of his neck, grabbing his collar.

"Gotcha." Filch said, showing a creepy smile.

Albus and Rose turned around to see Filch holding James by the neck. They were caught.


	8. The Voice

**Chapter Eight: The Voice**

Albus and Rose quickly turned around to see Filch holding James by the scruff on the neck. This could not be good.

"Ugh, lemme go!" James yelled, trying to gasp for air.

"I knew I saw someone sneaking out of the castle. Stupid Gryffindors, you never learn. Let's see what McGonagall has to say about this." Filch said, dragging a wailing James behind him.

"What's goin' on out 'ere?" Hagrid asked, as he stepped out of his hut.

"Caught in the act, Hagrid, I don't see how you're going to talk your way out of this one." Filch said.

"Oh, come on, Filch, it's my fault, don't blame them."

"They were caught out of bed after hours. They're in as much trouble as you. If I were you, Hagrid, I wouldn't get to cozy here." Filch said, making his way up to the castle.

Albus, Rose, and James held their heads low as Filch prodded them into the castle. They were in BIG trouble. What possible excuse could they make up to get out of this one? Albus thought about his mum and dad, and how angry and disappointed they would be. As Albus walked up the Grand Staircase, he heard laughing from above.

"Oooooo the ickle firsties got a bit in trouble, did they?" Peeves said mockingly.

Filch looked up and grunted at Peeves.

"Out of my way Peeves, I'm taking this bunch to McGonagall."

"Hehehehe alrighty then! The slimy whiny squib's gunna take the itty bitty Gryffindors to the Headmistressieee!" Peeves mocked.

"Why I outa!-…" Filch yelled, as Peeves dropped a dozen or so Dungbombs on Filch's head.

"Arghhh!" Filch yelled.

Peeves laughed in his incredibly annoying voice, and flew off to probably bother some poor teacher or prefect. There was nothing funny about how much trouble the trio was in, but Albus couldn't help but laugh at the state of Filch. He had Dungbomb remnants dripping down his cloak and face, and he smelled as though he had lived in a toilet his whole life. Albus held his head down, trying to not make eye contact with James or Rose, which would certainly cause him to laugh. He snuck a peek at James who was red in the face and trying to hold a straight face.

"One word, one word out of any of you, and I swear, I'll, I'll-.." Filch began to say.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Filch?" A voice came from behind Filch.

Professor McGonagall was standing behind Filch. She did not look happy.

"Headmistress, I found these three wandering around the grounds. They came from Hagrid's." Filch said.

"I see, thank you, I'll take it from here."

"You will be punishing them, right, Headmistress? They were wandering around, and I do hope Hagrid will be-…" Filch began to say.

"I will take it from here, Argus." McGonagall said calmly.

"Yes, Headmistress."

"And Argus," McGonagall said.

"Yes, Headmistress?" Filch asked.

"Please clean that up and take a bath."

Filch turned bright red and nodded at McGonagall. Albus quickly looked at James and Rose who were trying their best to suppress their giggles.

"You three, please follow me." McGonagall said in a calm tone.

McGonagall walked through the second floor corridor and opened a classroom with the flick of her wand. She walked in, and motioned for the three to sit at three desks In the front of the room. Albus' heart jumped into his throat, wondering what would happen. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"First of all, I want to tell you that it is very dangerous to be wandering around the school at night. We have these rules for a reason; it isn't to be mean, it's for your personal safety." McGonagall said calmly. "Second, of all, it isn't a safe time right now. Things are changing, and if the wrong people-.."

"You mean Umbridge?" Rose asked, cutting off McGonagall.

"If the wrong people, Ms. Granger, find you breaking common school rules, they won't hesitate to have you expelled and stripped of your wand."

"But you're headmistress, you overrule ministry rule when it comes to governing the school." James said.

"Mr. Potter, I hoped very much that I wouldn't be seeing you as much this year for misbehavior, and here you are. Now, as I said, it isn't safe, especially for you three. You need to trust me on this. I have had your parents in school, in class, and in detention. I know them and trust them, and I am not surprised to have their children as curious as they once were and are now. But, I need to impose the seriousness of what you have done. You have been caught, on your second evening, getting into trouble. Do not let me catch you again." McGonagall said in a strict tone.

"So, that's it? We're not in trouble? We don't even lose any points?" James asked, as Rose elbowed him hard in the stomach.

"I can take points away, Mr. Potter, if that's what it will take for you to learn your lesson." McGonagall said, raising an eyebrow.

"That-is-not-necessary…"James said, carefully choosing his words.

McGonagall nodded towards the door, and the three kids walked out. Albus was in a cold sweat. Why wasn't she angrier? What had just happened?

"Ha, we got off easy." James laughed, as he walked up the staircase.

"I hardly call that getting off easy, James, you heard what she said. We can't do that again, we could get into more serious trouble!" Rose exclaimed.

"Psh. Are you kidding me? Didn't you hear what she said? She said don't let her catch us again. We can go out again as long as we don't get caught." James said, justifying his wrongdoings.

Rose rolled her eyes and pushed past James to walk up the stairs. Albus had to laugh at the situation though, he had thought, and heard, that McGonagall was A LOT tougher on students, especially when they were caught sneaking around at night. Just as Albus was becoming consumed in his thoughts, he heard a raspy voice.

"_I'm going to kill you_."

"What did you just say?" Albus asked, turning to James.

"I didn't say anything…" James said, looking at Albus as though he had four heads.

Albus shook his head and continued to walk up the stairs.

"_I will get my revenge_."

"Hey, quit it, would you?" Albus turned to James, getting frustrated.

James and Rose stopped walking up the stairs and turned to stare at Albus.

"WHAT-IS-WRONG-WITH-YOU?" James asked, the same level of frustration in his voice as Albus'.

"I thought I- I thought I heard something," Albus said. "A voice, I heard a voice."

Rose tilted her head towards Albus with a confused look on her face.

"Are you okay, Albus? Do you want to go see the nurse?" Rose asked.

"No, I'm, I'm fine. I better just go lay down." Albus said, brushing past James and Rose as he sprinted up the stairs.

Albus ran through the halls and the corridors until he came to the chamber with the familiar portrait that lead to the Gryffindor common room. Rose and James were not too far behind him.

"Dragon eggs." Albus said to the portrait.

The portrait swung open, and Albus ran inside. The common room was dark and empty besides the fire flickering in the fire place. Albus walked to the other side of the common room where the bathroom was. He walked in, and drew water for bath. How good it would feel to get out of his dirty clothes and splash water on his face. Albus slipped into the bathtub and let the warm water slip over his face. He heard a loud knocking at the door.

"Albus, are you okay?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Albus said, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.

"Me and James are worried about you,"

"I'm not worried about him," James said.

"I'm fine, I'm taking a bath." Albus yelled.

Albus tried to enjoy the rest of his bath while all his wild thoughts ran through his head. The dreams, the voice, what was happening to him? Albus got out of his bath and put his pajamas on. Unfortunately, Rose was waiting for him outside the bathroom.

"Are you okay?"

"For the third time, Rose, I'm fine." Albus said, as he walked up the spiral staircase to his dormitory.

Albus opened the door to find everything the same as how he had left it. Beau remained stretched out on his pillow, Scorpius and Max were asleep. Wait, what was wrong with Scorpius? Albus walked over to Scorpius to see that he had blood running down his bead, coming from an apparent wound to his stomach.

"Scorpius, Oh my God! Scorpius, wake up!" Albus yelled.

Scorpius remained unresponsive in his bed, but Albus managed to wake everyone else up.

"What are you doing?" A groggy-eyed Max asked.

"Scorpius is bleeding, and he's not waking up!" Albus yelled.

Max shot up out of bed and ran over to Scorpius. The other boys got up as well.

"Someone, go get help!" Albus yelled, panicking.

"What's going on?" Teddy Lupin asked in an irritated voice. He had probably come up when he had heard all the noise.

"It's Scorpius, he's bleeding!" Max said in a panicked voice.

Teddy rushed over to Scorpius and tried to wake him up. He then ran out of the room and came back several minutes later with McGonagall, Victore, Professor Longbottom, and the school nurse. McGonagall rushed over to Scorpius.

"What happened?!" McGonagall asked in an anxious voice.

"I came in and found him like this!" Albus said.

"Madam Pomfrey, bring him to the hospital wing immediately while I contact this young boy's parents." McGonagall said, conjuring a stretcher out of thin air with her wand.

Scorpius was placed on the stretcher, and then wheeled out by Madam Pomfrey. McGonagall turned to everyone left in the room.

"Gather your things you need for tonight and tomorrow and come down to the common room immediately."

McGonagall left the room, followed by Professor Longbottom, Teddy, and Victore. Albus stood right where he was. What was happening to him? He had been in Hogwarts for two days, not even, and one of his friends was already attacked. Max shook Albus' arm.

"Comon, we need to go to downstairs." Max said.

Albus nodded and gathered his things. He stuck Beau in his night pants' pocket. Albus looked around one last time at the dormitory that he had only known for two days. Something evil was lurking around Hogwarts, and he was going to find out what it was.


	9. The Fifth House

**Chapter Nine: The Fifth House**

Albus took one last look at his dormitory before he grabbed his bag full of supplies for the next day. He was in shock. One day in Hogwarts, and his life was already turning into a nightmare.

"_Next time it will be you."_

Albus spun around. No one was there. He wondered whether Rose was right and he should go see the nurse, but with everything happening so fast, and Scorpius in a deadly situation, he decided to wait. Albus walked down the dormitory stairs to find everyone in Gryffindor House crammed into the common room along with Professor Longbottom and Professor McGonagall.

"If I could please have your attention," McGonagall said. "A first year student was just found attacked in his bed, and we don't know how yet. Until the investigation is complete, Gryffindor House will be boarding in…other facilities. If you could please follow Professor Longbottom, he will lead you to your sleeping quarters."

Heads began to turn and murmurs began to get increasingly loud through the common room. Albus spotted Rose and James across the room and made his way over to them. As soon as Albus walked over towards them, Rose shut her mouth and stared at the floor.

"What's going on?" Albus asked.

"Well, oh, well its nothing." Rose said, still staring at the floor.

Albus was becoming annoyed. Why was Rose acting like this?

"What is it?"

"It's nothing, Albus, really-…" Rose began to say.

"People think you did it, they think you attacked the Malfoy boy." James said, cutting Rose off. "They said you were the last one in the room and just happened to notice that he was bleeding."

"What?!" Albus yelled, anger rushing to his face.

"We don't think that Albus, really! It's just, well you've been acting little weird today…" Rose said, trying to cheer Albus up.

Albus didn't know what to say. Who would he confide in if his own family thought he was guilty? Just as anger was rising to Albus' face, Max walked over towards him.

"Can you believe what happened? I wonder who would do that to Scorpius!"

"Yeah, thanks, Max, I already know everyone thinks I did it." Albus said sarcastically.

"I don't think that." Max said as he shook his head. "Whoever, or whatever did that to Scorpius was no first year. From what I picked up from McGonagall's conversation with Professor Longbottom, it would have to be some pretty dark magic."

Albus nodded in appreciation. Though sometimes he found Max irritating, he was glad to have at least someone on his side.

"Gryffindors, please follow me!" Professor Longbottom yelled over the crowd of chatty students.

The Gryffindors followed Professor Longbottom out of the portrait and into the corridor. Albus didn't know where they were going, but he didn't care as long as they'd be safe. It felt like forever to get to wherever they were going. They walked down towards the main entrance and past three doors before they started descending down a set of stairs hidden behind a giant tapestry. Several students were whispering about how they thought they were going to have to board with Slytherin.

"Professor Longbottom, are we boarding with Slytherin?" Rose asked.

"No, Ms. Weasley, that would be inappropriate. I'm taking you down to unoccupied facilities."

Albus and the other Gryffindors started to trudge along when they started descending the third set of stairs behind ANOTHER tapestry. Where on earth were they going? Just as the students were becoming weary and tired, Professor stopped in front of a dark and dusty statue in front of yes, you guessed it, another tapestry. Albus couldn't be sure what the statue was in the dark, but it looked like the figure of a mermaid.

"We wish to gain entrance." Professor Longbottom said to the statue.

Albus thought he was dreaming, he actually witnessed the Mermaid shift positions and start to speak.

"And what do you have to offer?" The statue asked in a raspy, creepy voice.

Professor Longbottom placed what looked to be a piece of seaweed in front of the statue. The statue bent over, picked the seaweed up, and made it disappear with the touch of her trident. The statue then pointed its trident at the tapestry, which caught on fire with contact. Behind what was left of the tapestry lay a small wooden door. Professor Longbottom then motioned for the Gryffindors to follow him through the door.

Though very dark and dusty, Albus was in awe as he looked around the room. Everywhere he looked he saw mermaids. The carpets were a dark rich blue with mermaids, the pictures on the walls showed mermaids swimming in the lake, but the biggest surprise was what Albus noticed right in front of him. He walked across the room, mystified at what he was seeing. He peered out the giant window with his fellow Gryffindors to notice that they were under water. Schools of fish, as well as big octopuses swam by as the students watched. Professor Longbottom shut the curtains over the window with the flick of his wand.

"No one is to open these curtains while you are staying down here. Failure to obey will result in detention and possible expulsion." Professor Longbottom said.

"Was this a common room for another house, Sir?" Rose asked.

"No one is to open that curtain." Professor Longbottom said, ignoring Rose. "You will be staying here until the investigation is complete and it is safe to return to Gryffindor Tower. I must tell you that in order to gain entrance to this room; you must present the statue with a certain gift. Every day, the gift will be different. Come see me tomorrow morning and I will give you what you need. I don't expect you to be down here long, but your belongings will be brought down here tomorrow during the day. I know it's been a crazy day, but I would advise all of you to get some sleep."

Professor Longbottom left through the small wooden door in which they had gone through. Many Gryffindors yawned and made their way up the stairs to the dormitory. Everyone except Albus, Rose, James, and Max remained in the common room.

"Max, why don't you go up? I'll be there in a sec, I just gutta talk to my brother." Albus said.

Max looked hurt, but smiled and obliged. As soon as he was out of earshot, Albus turned to Rose.

"Where do you think we are?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I had heard that there were rumors of a fifth Hogwarts' house, but it always sounded, I don't know, implausible to me." Rose said.

"A fifth house?" James asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. This may have been a common room used for one of the other houses, like Ravenclaw." Rose said.

"No, it's covered in Mermaids. What's that over there?" Albus asked, as he walked over to the fireplace.

Though it was dark, Albus tried to examine the mantle on the fireplace. It had some sort of script on it. He couldn't make out the words without light.

"Lumos." Rose said, as she pointed her wand towards the mantle.

Rose's wand gave just enough light to see what the script said.

_Beware to thee all, who wish to enter the everlasting House of Mermindor _

"What's Mermindor?" James asked with a confused look on his face.

"I don't know. It must be a fifth house of Hogwarts, but, but, it can't be. There's nothing written about it in anything I've read, or any other books for that matter." Rose said.

"Maybe it wasn't a good house." James said.

"Nothing could be worse than Slytherin." Albus said.

"You two are jumping to conclusions. There were four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. If there was another house, then there would have to be another founder, which there's not." Rose said, matter of factly.

"How do you explain this, then?" Albus asked, running his fingers over the script in the mantle.

"I don't know, but there's got to be another explanation besides another house. Not only has no one heard of it, but it's absolutely absurd to think there was another founder. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed." Rose said, turning on her heel and walking up the stairs.

James shrugged his shoulders at Albus and walked up the stairs. Albus watched as he turned into a room on his left.

"House of Mermindor…" Albus said to himself.

Albus looked at the script one last time before he turned around and headed to bed. What was Mermindor? Was it another Hogwarts' House? Or was it simply an emergency room used for desperate boarding situations? Albus shrugged his shoulders and headed to bed. He would just have to wait to have his questions answered.


	10. Miranda Mermindor

Chapter Ten: Miranda Mermindor

Albus didn't sleep well that night. He kept tossing and turning, worrying that whatever attacked Scorpius would come after him. Albus slept with his wand that night, and although he didn't know many spells, he figured he'd at least try to scare the attacker off. The common room the Gryffindor's were residing in was dark, cold, and dusty. Albus had figured that someone had attempted to clean it on short notice when Scorpius was attacked, but the dormitory looked like it hadn't been occupied for at least 100 years.

One of the things Albus hated about the dormitory was that he couldn't tell what time it was without looking at his pocket watch. Though he had only been in Gryffindor for a few days, he could tell the time of the day by looking outside. The Gryffindors had been instructed to not open any curtains, not that it would have mattered, because the only thing they could see out the window was water. Albus felt as if he were in a house in a fish tank. Though he was instructed not to open the curtains, he walked over to them when he noticed everyone was asleep.

Albus stood in front of the window, tempted to pull the curtains back. When he noticed that everyone was asleep, he yanked the dusty curtains back quickly. Albus stumbled back in shock as he came face to face to what looked like a sickly human-like fish hybrid. The hybrid looked at Albus and put its hand to the window. He quickly looked around to make sure his little episode had not awoken anyone before he walked over to the window. Albus put his hand to the window, only to seen that the hybrid was a female. Had she not looked so pale and thin, Albus thought she would have made a beautiful girl. He figured being under water constantly had its toll.

"What's your name?" The hybrid asked.

Albus looked around. He could not believe that this fish-thing had talked, never mind the fact that it was talking to him.

"Al-Albus," Albus stuttered. "But most people call me Al."

"Albus," The hybrid said. "I once knew a very wise man. His name was also Albus. Albus Dumbledore."

"Albus Dumbledore! I was named after him!"

"Were you really? That's interesting. Very interesting."

"Um, sorry for asking, but, um, what-what exactly are you?" Albus asked.

"Well I'm a mermaid, of course." The mermaid laughed.

"_You're _a mermaid?" Albus asked in disbelief.

"Yes, why? Am I not what you had in mind?" The mermaid asked, in an annoyed tone.

"No, no, it's just, well, I thought mermaids were, um…"

"Beautiful? Majestic? Suave?"

"No, you are beautiful, just, uh, different." Albus said, unconvincingly.

The mermaid gave Albus a dirty look and then swam off.

"No, wait!" Albus yelled.

"Albus?" Max asked groggily. "Who are you talking to?"

Albus quickly shut the curtains and walked over to his bed.

"Nothing, Max, just sleep walking. Go back to bed."

Max nodded and passed out on his pillow about three seconds later. Albus shut his eyes, in an attempt to get a few hours a sleep. He woke up to Max shaking him.

"Whatareyoodoin?!" Albus asked crankily.

"We have to get up! We have Transfiguration in fifteen minutes!" Max yelled.

Albus bolted out of bed quickly. "Why didn't you get me up?"

"I slept in! Sorry…"

Albus and Max got dressed quickly and ran to their Transfiguration class. Not having enough sleep and skipping breakfast caused Albus to be in a bad mood. He hoped his professor wouldn't give them anything hard or challenging to do.

"Hello class, I am sorry to say that Professor Moxley will be unavailable to teach school today, so I will be teaching this class." Professor McGonagall said, rushing to the teacher's desk.

"Today, we will be turning sewing needles into beetles-…yes what is it Miss Granger?"

"Weasley." Rose said.

"I'm sorry?" Professor McGonagall asked questionly.

"You've been calling me Miss Granger, Professor."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You remind me of your mother. Is there a question you have?"

"I was wondering if you could tell us about a fifth Hogwarts' house." Rose said.

People turned their heads to look at Rose. The Gryffindors were interested, and the hairs on Albus' neck stuck straight up. Professor McGonagall looked as if she were expecting the question.

"Oh, very well," McGonagall sighed. "As you all know, there were four founders to this school: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. What many of you don't know, is that there was a fifth founder. Her name was Miranda Mermindor. Miss Mermindor was what we call an Animagus today, she was able to transform herself into a fish, but she could keep her human-like qualities. Therefore, the term mermaid came into play."

The whole class was listening to McGonagall intently. Albus was on the edge of his seat.

"When the school was founded, Salazar Slytherin left. He wanted magical learning to be kept within all magic families, in other words, purebloods. When he left, the original agreement had been kept. He had a house named after him, and many students are still place in his house today. But, let me tell you, Miranda Mermindor agreed with Salazar Slytherin. She wanted magical learning to be kept in all-magic families. Despite her disagreements with the other houses, she stayed. A house was named after her, and students were placed in her house."

"Why doesn't the house exist today?" Rose asked.

"As the years passed, less and less students were being placed in Mermindor. As Mermindor herself aged, fewer students were being placed in her house. One year, no one was placed in her house, and she became furious. She didn't know why no one was being placed in her house, but she had assumed that it had to do with magic qualities and abilities. She wanted to make revisions to entering Hogwarts' students."

"What kind of revisions?" Max asked.

"She wanted every incoming student to take a test before they were allowed access to the school. She wanted to test their magic ability by making them turn into an animal of their choosing. Of course, many first years know little magic, never mind being able to transform into an animal. However, Mermindor insisted, stating that she could transform into a human-fish hybrid when she was a little girl, otherwise known as a mermaid. Without consent from the other Heads of Houses, she forced the incoming students to perform a test. As you can expect, no one passed. She kept insisting, which resulted in the death of six new students."

"Six students died?" Gabby asked.

"Yes. Six students died. You can imagine the shock and sadness that penetrated the school. Not to mention the anger that the other founders felt. Mermindor was banned from the school effective immediately, and was supposed to stand trial for cruelty to minors and murder. On the day of her trial, Mermindor was sentenced to life in Azkaban prison. She quickly transformed, disappeared into the lake, and was never heard from again."

"What happened to the upper classmen from Mermindor?" Rose asked.

"Some of them left Hogwarts. They had different types on magic. They were also able to transform into animals, most of them water-bred. Two students stayed at Hogwarts and were re-sorted into Slytherin."

The class was silent. Albus couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hoped McGonagall would let the class out early, so he could send a letter home to his parents about this.

"But, I do want to tell you, that this happened over 300 years ago. There is nothing to worry about." McGonagall said.

McGonagall made the class stay the whole time. She showed them how to turn a needle into a beetle. Rose was the only one who could accomplish this task. Max had made his needle sprout wings, but that was about it.

"Professor Moxley should be back for your next class, please practice this before next time! Oh and Albus, I need to speak to you." McGonagall said.

Albus formed a lump in his throat. This could not be good. He approached McGonagall's desk as the last of the other students left.

"You are just as curious as your parents were at your age; but I do not want you to open that curtain."

"I-.." Albus stuttered.

"We may be able to live peacefully with mer-people, but I do not want you communicating with them, do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, on your way."

Albus left the classroom to find the halls nearly empty. He felt a hard shove from behind, and all his books fell to the ground. He bent down to pick his books up, as a hard boot stepped on his hand. He looked up in pain to see Finis Cox standing there.

"Don't forget about our little duel tonight, Potter. I wouldn't want to have to mark you absent. There would not be very good consequences." Cox said.

Albus picked his books up, and rubbed his hand as Finis walked off. This was going to be a very long day.


	11. The Room of Requirement

Chapter Eleven: The Room of Requirement

Albus didn't pay attention in any of his classes that day, for he was too preoccupied with his appending duel with Finis Cox. Finis was bigger, stronger, and if he knew two spells, that was more than Albus knew. The only thing Albus had to look forward to was the fact that his brother would be there. Though they constantly fought, Albus knew that James would always have his back.

Just as Albus was on his way to the Great Hall for dinner, he saw a tall man with slicked back platinum blonde hair screaming at Professor McGonagall.

"HE DID NOT BELONG IN GRIFFYNDOR TO BEGIN WITH! ALL OF HIS ANCESTORS COME FROM SLYTHERIN!" The man roared.

"Mr. Malfoy, your son was sorted into Gryffindor because that's where he belongs. What happened is inexcusable and is being investigated, but I need you to calm down." McGonagall said sternly.

"It was probably that Potter boy, wasn't it? What is his name, Allison?" Malfoy said.

"His name is Albus Potter, Mr. Malfoy; he was named after the greatest headmaster of this school. And I would think that you should know by now just how loyal the Potters are!"

Albus felt a surge of gratitude towards McGonagall. As he walked by her and Malfoy, they both stared at him. He walked through the doors of the Great Hall and spotted Max and Rose. Max gave him a small smile and went back to eating his potatoes.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" Albus asked.

Rose exchanged glances with Max. "Nothing," they replied in unison.

Albus knew something was going on but was too tired to care. He sat down next to Max and helped himself to some chicken and potatoes. He felt awkward as he and his friends ate in silence. Just as Albus was about to leave, his brother James walked past him, laughing with his friends. James spotted Albus and ushered his friends to keep walking while he slapped Albus on the shoulder.

"So," James whispered into Albus' ear. "We still on for tonight?"

"Finis is. I'm not so sure I'm ready for this."

"Of course you are. You have to show Cox that you're tough enough to handle this; that you_ can_ beat him." James said.

"That's just it, James, I can't beat him. I know two spells, and I hardly believe turning a needle into a beetle is going to help me."

"Do you really think I'd let you get crushed by Cox? I'll be under the cloak the whole time. Don't worry." James said, walking back over to his group of friends.

Ready or not, scared or not, Albus was going to have to duel Cox. Though that was the last thing he wanted, he didn't have a choice. Albus decided to go back to the temporary Gryffindor Common Room to get some sleep before the duel. When he got to the statue, Albus realized that he had forgotten to get the gift from Professor Longbottom.

"Uh I don't have a gift, but I can bring two next time-…" Albus began to say.

The statue put its trident right against Albus' throat before Professor Longbottom came running to his aid. He placed two pieces of rosemary under the statue's fin.

"Double gifts, for your troubles." Professor Longbottom said.

The statue gave them a dirty look, accepted the gifts, and then went back to standing still.

"Why isn't it opening?" Albus asked.

"Everyone has moved back into Gryffindor Tower. You're free to go back up there." Professor Longbottom said.

Albus smiled. "So Scorpius, he's okay?"

"He will be in the hospital wing for a few days, but yes, he will be okay. The investigation is still on-going, but it is safe to return to the dormitory." Professor Longbottom said.

Albus made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. He walked in to find Max and Rose playing a game of chess.

"Thanks for telling me that we were moving back up to our regular common room." Albus said sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry! We though you knew." Rose said.

Albus rolled his eyes and walked up to his dormitory. He was in no mood for Rose, Max, or even James. He didn't want to think about battling Finis or getting caught, which he knew could happen. He put his head down on his pillow, and was awaken by being shaken.

"Hey, Al, comon, get up!" James whispered.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm up already." Albus said groggily.

He yawned and stood up. It was 11:30; he still had half an hour to go before he was supposed to meet Finis. James pulled him by the arm, and led him into the common room. Rose was waiting downstairs for both of them.

"I don't think you should come, Rose." Albus said.

"I'm coming, Albus. James and I will be hiding under the cloak. We should leave now, so we arrive before Finis does."

Albus nodded and the three of them put the cloak on and made their way down the grand staircase and into the duel meeting place. Albus was so nervous he thought he would throw up, but he was thankful James and Rose had volunteered to help him. When they got to the meeting place, Albus checked his watch and noticed that he still had just over five minutes until Finis would be showing up.

"Alright, make sure you flick your wand every few minutes so Finis doesn't know you have any accomplices," James said. "And don't worry; we've got your back."

Rose gave Albus a small nod of encouragement before she disappeared under the cloak with James. Albus sat in a chair in the corner with his wand out. Finis would be arriving any minute.

Albus checked his watch for the third time. It was 12:22. He was wondering when Finis would show up. Just as he began to think Finis was not coming, he heard a set of footsteps coming from behind the tapestry. Before he had time to react, James grabbed Albus and pulled him under the cloak. Just before he had time to protest, Albus saw Filch walk into the room.

"Who's there?" Filch asked, in a raspy voice.

Albus was beginning to panic. Filch had already caught the trio once, getting caught again in the same week would not make his parents happy. The three kids huddled together and stayed as quiet as possible. As soon as is what safe, James motioned for the three to bolt out of there. They ran quickly, trying to make as little noise as possible, but Filch heard the hurrying of footsteps. Though they were invisible, Filch would catch them if they didn't hurry.

Instead of back to the common room, James led the trio to a different route and down a corridor. Filch was not far behind.

"James, where are we going? We need to get back to the common room!" Rose whispered.

"Shhh! Just trust me!" James whispered back.

The trio came to a dead-end. That was it, they were done for. James shut his eyes, and before Albus knew it, a door appeared in front of them. Rose opened the door, and they all quickly ran inside. Albus took the cloak off and looked around. There were three beds and a bathroom set up, as well as robes for the next day.

"What is this place?" Albus asked in awe.

Rose looked around in astonishment as well. "I've read about this. I bet you anything this is the Room of Requirement!"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Albus exclaimed.

"Don't worry," James said. "Filch won't find us. Once we're in, he can't get in unless we need him to. He probably can't even see the door from the other side."

"Do you think Filch caught Finis?" Albus asked, a smile creeping to his face.

"Albus, I think Finis conned you. He never had any intention of going to the duel; he was trying to get you in trouble." Rose said.

Albus looked confused. "I don't understand."

"Albus, what did Finis really have to gain by scheduling a duel with you? Maybe he gives you a few hard punches with spells, but, that's it. By getting you in trouble, he gets points deducted from Gryffindor, and you would be cleaning floors with Filch for a month." Rose said.

"Yeah but Filch didn't catch us." Albus said.

"Yeah, _Thank God_." James said, rolling his eyes.

"No, he didn't. And by the looks of this room the way it is now, I am assuming that we're going to be staying here the night. So, we'll deal with Finis tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Rose said, hopping into bed.

Rose fell asleep quickly, but James and Albus stayed awake talking.

"What should we do about Finis?" Albus asked his brother.

"Call him out on not showing up, I guess. I don't really think you have to do anything. He'll be shocked to see you walking around smiling." James said.

Albus nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What about Filch though?"

"Hahaha, what about him? That greaseball is probably asleep in front of this wall right now!" James laughed.

"I thought you said he can't see the door…." Albus said.

"He can't, but he knows the room's here. Mom and Dad used it when they went to school here."

"How do you know-…"

"Uncle George." James said.

"Oh. Well how can you be sure he won't be able to make the door appear like you did?"

"For one thing, he's a Squib…and for another, this room appears to the first person, or party that comes across it."

"Squib?" Albus said in a confused tone.

"Yeah. Why do you think Ole' Filchie never uses magic. He can't. He was born into a magic-family without magic-abilities. Kind of embarrassing for him, actually…"

Albus chuckled to himself and quickly felt himself falling asleep. He didn't know a lot about Hogwarts, but he did know that it had many more secrets than the ones he had found out about. From what his brother had said, Albus began to realize that he was more like his parents than he had originally thought. Not only were they trouble-makers, mostly like James, but they also unraveled many Hogwarts' secrets in the time that they were there as well.


	12. The Confrontation

Chapter Twelve: The Confrontation

Albus woke up suddenly to the feeling of someone shaking him awake. He was becoming increasingly sick of waking up that way.

"Wh-what?" Albus said groggily.

"Comon, get up." James whispered.

"Why? We have another 30 minutes." Albus said, checking his pocket watch.

"Yes, but that's what Filch is expecting. If we leave now, we run the lesser chance of getting caught." James said.

Albus nodded and followed James and Rose to the back of the room. A big dark-oak door lay there, but Albus hadn't remembered seeing it the night before.

"Was this door always here?" Albus asked.

"This room always comes equipped with what the seeker needs," Rose explained. "It probably conjured while we were sleeping."

"If this door is here then why do we have to get up early?" Albus asked.

"Al, think about it. Ole Filchie is probably snuggled up in front of the wall where we would come out of. People will start coming out in the corridors for breakfast soon. If we wait until then, he might see or hear us." James said, patting his brother on the shoulder.

Albus nodded and the trio went through the back door. They were led into an intersecting corridor, and just as James had predicted, Filch was asleep in a chair in front of the wall. James through the invisibility cloak over them before they proceeded towards Filch.

"Is there any other way back to the common room without having to pass Filch?" Rose whispered.

"There's an old bookshelf at the end of the north corridor. If we move it, a hidden staircase will lead to the seventh floor, but Filch will definitely hear us." James whispered back.

Rose nodded and the three kids walked as stealthily past Filch as possible. His cat, Mrs. Norris, opened her eyes suddenly as Rose swept by under the cloak. Everyone froze as Mrs. Norris hopped off of Filch's lap and advanced towards them. The three kids silently moved back in place, which was difficult because they were trying to keep themselves covered by the cloak. Just as they backed into a corner, their worst fear occurred. Filch opened his eyes.

Filch let out a large yawn and stretched his arms far above his head. He looked down in his lap to see that Mrs. Norris wasn't there, so he stood up until he was facing the corner in which the trio was hiding.

"Norrie, what are you doing there?" Filch asked in the most compassionate voice possible.

Mrs. Norris looked at Filch and then back to the corner in which the kids were. As Filch approached, Rose, Albus, and James all sucked in their breath to keep from making any noise. When Filch was about five feet away from them, a lifesaving voice came to the rescue.

"Mr. Filch, would you mind doing me a favor?" Professor McGonagall asked, still wearing her night robes.

"Of course, Mam, but I was just waiting for some kids-…" Filch began.

"Kids?" McGonagall questioned.

"Yes, Mam, last night some kids came running up here and I think they went in there." Filch said, pointing to a blank wall.

"That's a brick wall, Mr. Filch…" McGonagall said condescendingly.

"Yes, but Mam, there's a-…"

"That's enough. Right now, I need you to go clean up the boy's lavatory on the second floor. Apparently some young men thought it would be funny to re-decorate it in Dungbombs." McGonagall said.

"But, Mam, the-…" Filch began.

"I don't want to hear anymore conspiracy theories, Filch. Please don't make me ask again."

Filch nodded begrudgingly, but left to clean the lavatory. Mrs. Norris followed. After Filch was gone, the three kids stayed still, not wanting to give their position away. Although they were covered by the cloak, McGonagall stared directly at the corner where the trio was for about ten seconds after Filch left. Thankfully, she turned around and headed back down the corridor.

James let out a huge breath. "Whew, that was a close one."

Rose rolled her eyes at James, while the three kids got up and walked down the corridor and up the Grand Staircase. When they got to the Gryffindor portrait, they took the cloak off and said the password, '_dragon eggs'_.

"I'm sorry, that is incorrect." The fat lady said.

"What, no, that can't be! It was that yesterday!" Rose said, starting to panic.

"The password has recently been changed." The fat lady replied.

"Oh yeah, by whom?" James challenged.

"By me." A voice said, coming from behind the children.

McGonagall walked up behind the three children as they slowly turned around. This could not be good.

"I changed the password about five minutes ago," McGonagall stated. "Right about the time you were trying to evade Filch."

The three kids were speechless. They were not sure how they were going to get out of this one.

"The new password is _sherbet lemon._ Please don't underestimate me; I'm not a stupid woman."

"We never thought you were, Prof-…" James began.

"Save it, Mr. Potter. I don't want to see you three wandering around anymore. That includes_ before_ and_ after_ hours. This really is your last warning before I start deducting serious points." McGonagall said, walking away briskly.

"Wow, we got off easy!" James said, smiling.

Albus and James both rolled their eyes at this, as they walked through the portrait hole. Albus was relieved that they didn't get in trouble, _again_, but he was also wondering why McGonagall was going so easy on them. From what he was used to hearing, McGonagall never went easy, on_ anybody_.

Just as Albus was walking to his dormitory, Max walked out and greeted him.

"Hey, Al." Max said, smiling. "Want to go get some breakfast?"

"Oh, erm, well I have to get dressed first."

"You're already dressed…" Max said, laughing.

Albus looked down and noticed that he was still wearing his uniform from yesterday. He felt gross.

"Uh, look Max, lemme just freshen up a bit and I'll meet you down there, okay?" Albus said.

Max gave Albus a strange looked, nodded, and then proceeded into the common room. Albus walked into his dormitory, grabbed some clean clothes, and headed into the bathroom. After taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth, Albus walked back into the common room.

"I decided to just wait for you here." Max said.

"Thanks, Max. Let's go." Albus said, leading them both out of the portrait.

As they walked down the Grand Staircase, Max began to look upset.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked.

"It's just that, well, I know you have your brother and cousin, but it seems like you're always hanging out with them." Max said.

Albus knew where this was going. "Max, we're friends. Some things I just have to keep between my brother and stuff."

"Like sneaking out at midnight?"

Albus' heart froze. "Wh-what?" Albus said, trying to play it off.

"You have been sneaking out a lot, and we haven't even been here two weeks!" Max replied.

"Shhh, keep it down." Albus said, looking around.

"Can you at least tell me why you've been sneaking out?" Max asked.

Albus looked at Max and said nothing.

"Whatever," Max said in the first angry tone Albus had heard.

"Look, Max, I would tell you, but-…" Albus started to say.

"I said, whatever." Max said, visibly angry now.

Albus and Max walked into the Great Hall, only to see Finis Cox down at the Slytherin table with Gabby and his other bully-friends.

"Hey, Potter, have a good night?" Finis mocked.

Albus had had enough. He wasn't going to take any more harassment from Finis. He walked over to the Slytherin table as Max sat down with the other Gryffindors.

"Well, Finis," Albus began. "I would have had a very good nigh last night, if you hadn't chickened out of the duel that_ you_ challenged me to."

Finis turned bright red, but let out a loud, cackling fake laugh in front of his friends. Gabby was smirking.

"You must be stupid, Potter. I only scheduled that duel because I knew Filch would catch you and make your life a living hell. Who do you think tipped filch off?" Finis said.

The other Slytherins roared with laughter.

"Well, your plan may have worked if I _had actually_ gotten caught. I passed Filch but you know him, he was too absorbed in his kitty-cat to notice me. Check the hourglass. Do you see any points missing? No. I think the real reason you didn't show up was because you may look like a big tough guy on the outside, but on the inside you're just a tiny, cowering wimp. You know that if you had showed up to the duel that I would have kicked your _ass_." Albus said.

Finis was speechless, and Albus used the opportunity to give him a sarcastic smile and turn around to sit with the other Gryffindors. It had only become apparent to him that other people were listening in when the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and _especially_ the Gryffindors stood up and cheered for Albus. The Slytherins sat at their table and didn't utter a single word. The whole room was beginning to die down, and Albus noticed that Max was the only person not cheering.

James came over to Albus and slapped him hard on the back. "BRO!" he yelled.

Rose gave Albus a small smile and continued eating her cereal. Max pretending that he didn't care.

"Max, I-…" Albus began.

"I'm going to class." Max said seriously, as he left the table.

Albus felt bad, but he didn't really know what Max expected him to do. It wasn't like he could tell him everything, he had only known him a short while. Then again, Albus didn't want to lose Max as a friend either.

"He'll come around," Rose said, taking a bite of her toast.

Albus let out a deep breath, and looked up to see his dad's owl heading his way. He caught the letter that the owl was holding and opened it. It was from Hagrid,_ again_.

Dear Al, Rose, and James,

I am very sorrie that I gut you three in trubble the other dae. Of course that was not me intent, but it happened anyways. If you are up for it, please come down for tea at my howse around 3 o'clock.

Sinseerly,

Hagrid

Albus folded the letter up, not bothering to make sense of Hagrid's horrible grammar. Though he wasn't in the mood, Hagrid was his friend and he felt obligated to go see him. He felt bad about Max, but there was nothing he could really do about it. After all, family comes before friends.

_Please let me know what you think of the story so far, and keep in mind that Albus doesn't know that he's related to Max yet!_


	13. Hagrid's Bad News

Chapter Thirteen: Hagrid's Bad News

Max didn't talk to Albus all day. When Albus tried to offer a small smile in potions class, Max simply ignored him. He knew Max was upset, but he didn't understand why he had to act this way. Albus thought he was acting like a drama queen.

People were slapping Albus on the back and giving him high fives all day; apparently Finis Cox wasn't as popular as Albus had thought. When it got to be around 2:30, Albus went looking for James to tell him that Hagrid wanted to meet them for tea.

"Maybe he's in the common room?" Rose suggested.

"I just looked there. Oh well, we'll just have to tell Hagrid that we couldn't find him." Albus shrugged.

Albus and Rose headed down to Hagrid's Hut. It started to lightly rain as they climbed the steps to the house. Before Albus had a chance to knock, the door flung open, Hagrid was standing in the doorway.

"Hurry up, get in, get in!" Hagrid said, hurrying Albus and Rose inside.

Albus exchanged glances with Rose.

"Uh, Hagrid, what's going on?" Rose asked.

"Were ye followed?" Hagrid asked, ignoring Rose.

"What?" Albus asked.

"Did ye see anyone followin' ye?" Hagrid asked.

"No?..." Albus said.

"Hagrid, what's-…" Rose began.

"Where's James?" Hagrid asked.

"We couldn't find him." Albus said.

"Wha' do you mean ye couldn't find 'im?" Hagrid asked, somewhat paranoid.

"We looked for him but-…" Rose began.

"Ugh, I needed the threes of ye-…" Hagrid said, rambling.

"HAGRID, WHAT'S GOING ON?" Albus yelled, startling both Hagrid and Rose.

"You're righ', you're righ', sit down ye two. Would ye like sem tea?"

"No, we're fine, Hagrid. Please just tell us what's going on." Rose said, sitting down.

"Well, as I tolds ye before, I migh' not be 'ere much longer. Things are changin' in London. The Ministry, its, well, le's just say, it will be under new managemen' soon."

"What do you mean, Hagrid? There's going to be a new Minister of Magic?" Rose asked.

"Tha's right. The current Minister is gunna to be goin' into hidin' soon. He knows he's in danger."

"In danger?" Albus asked. "What do you mean?" Albus asked.

"He's goin' to be overthrown, kicked out, they're probably gunna try an' kill 'im!" Hagrid said, raising his voice.

"Who's causing this?" Rose asked.

"Delores Umbridge." Hagrid stated.

Albus and Rose exchanged nervous glances.

"How is that possible? She was in prison for cruelty to muggleborns; she was stripped of her wand!" Rose said, getting emotional.

"Shhh!" Hagrid said, holding his hand up. "I know, I know, but it's true! She has a lot of support within the Ministry. Yer parents an' grandparents are puttin' up resistance, tryin' to fight her, but, it's only a matter of time now I'm afraid."

"Wh-what about our parents?" Rose stuttered. "Will they be alright?"

"They're probably gunna go inter hiding themselves. When they do, I'll be with 'em."

"Does McGonagall know about this?" Albus asked.

"Yes, she's working with yer parents."

"What about- what about our Uncle Percy?" Rose stammered.

"I'm, well I'm afraid tha' he's…on Umbridge's side." Hagrid sighed.

"But, but why?" Rose asked, her eyes filling up with tears.

"He probably thinks he's doin' the righ' thing," Hagrid said. "Tha', or she's got 'im under the Imperious Curse."

"What about our parents?" Albus asked.

"They should be a'right. They 'ave a lot more people lookin' after ye then ye think."

"What's going to happen?" Rose asked. "Like, after the Ministry is overthrown?"

"My guess is, they'll move into Hogwarts. Umbridge took command once, she'll be doin' it again. Yer parents overthrew her once, they'll do it again, but this time it's different because…well its different." Hagrid sighed.

"Why is it different?" Rose asked.

"I-I can't tell ye why jus' yet." Hagrid stammered.

"Please, Hagrid, if we're going to be prepared, then we need to know." Albus said.

"A'right. About 17 years ago, yer parents defeated a dark wizard."

"Voldemort." Albus and Rose said in unison.

"Tha's right. Well, most of his supporters are in prison, or dead. One was presumed dead, but rumor 'as it, she's still alive." Hagrid said.

"Who is it?" Rose asked.

"Bellatrix Lestrange." Hagrid said.

"No, that's not possible. Our grandmother killed her." Rose said.

"Tha's what ev'ryone thought. It turns out, there may 'ave been more than one soul of Bellatrix Lestrange." Hagrid said.

Albus and Rose exchanged confused glances.

"Do you know what a Horcrux is?" Hagrid asked.

"No," They both replied.

"I can't get into details, but it's a piece of magic tha' lets one split their soul. It can make someon' immortal. In fact, yer parents destroyed horcruxes tha' belonged to Voldemort, tha's how they were able to kill 'im." Hagrid said.

"I still don't understand-…" Rose said.

"If Bellatrix Lestrange used Horcruxes, the she ain't really dead. Rumor has it, she's been in hidin'; but it get worse." Hagrid said.

"How could what you just told us, possibly get any worse?" Albus said in disbelief.

"It was rumored tha' there were three magical artifacts-…" Hagrid began.

"The Deathly Hallows?" Rose asked.

"Yes, and yer father was in possession of em all." Hagrid said to Albus.

"Was?" Rose asked.

"Tha's right, was. He is no longer the Master of Death." Hagrid said.

"How is that possible?" Rose asked.

"Well, Harry was the Master of the Elder Wand-…" Hagrid began.

"He no longer is?" Rose interrupted.

"No, he relinquished the wand 17 years ago. He placed it back in the tomb of Albus Dumbledore after fixing his own wand."

"So? Wouldn't the wand still belong to him?" Rose asked.

"No, it wouldn't belong to anybody. It was Harry's wand, but he voluntarily gave it up."

"Okay, so he doesn't have the Elder Wand, what does that matter?" Rose asked.

"He voluntarily gave up the Elder Wand," Hagrid said. "There were three pieces to the Deathly Hallows, and he gave one up. He is no longer the Master of Death." Hagrid said.

"And you need all three pieces to be the Master of Death…" Rose said.

"Tha's right." Hagrid said.

"What about the Resurrection Stone?" Rose asked.

"No one has seen it for 17 years." Hagrid said. "It could be anywhere."

"So, what does this all mean? My dad isn't the Master of Death, but what does it matter?" Albus asked.

"Well, I could be wrong about this, bu' I'm wonderin' if Bellatrix Lestrange is in possession of the Resurrection Stone. She may have taken the Elder wand." Hagrid said.

"What would she need the Resurrection Stone if she has Horcruxes?" Rose asked.

"Can you think of no one she would wanna bring back?" Hagrid asked.

"Voldemort?!" Albus said nervously.

"Tha's right." Hagrid said.

"That's not possible, Hagrid. The Resurrection Stone can't really bring back someone from the dead, not really, especially after almost 20 years. They wouldn't even be the same person, they'd be a shell with no soul." Rose stated.

"Voldemort had no soul, it was broken. If Lestrange is in fact alive, and she got her hands on all three hallows, there'd be no stoppin' her." Hagrid said.

"How could she even get to Voldemort? Only a select few people know where his body is, and it would probably be guarded by heavy enchantments." Rose said.

"Yer parents know where it is. McGonagall knows. I don't know if Lestrange knows, but it's been 17 years, she could 'ave found out somehow." Hagrid says.

"Even if she found out-…" Rose began.

"Look, I'm not tryin' ter scare you kids, but tha's all I know." Hagrid said.

Albus and Rose exchanged glances.

"What can we do?" Albus asked.

"Be careful, stay caution. Things are about to be changin', and when the storm hits, we all be best prepared." Hagrid said, moving his curtain so he could look out the window.

Hagrid's eyes bulged as he saw something alarming.

"Quick, go through the back door!" Hagrid whispered.

"Hagrid, what's-…" Rose began.

"Quickly, go! Umbridge is coming! Tell James what I told ye two. Be careful, don't be seen!"

"Hagrid!" Albus said.

"Please, go! I'll send you an owl when I can, go! Go now!" Hagrid whispered loudly.

Albus and Rose snuck out the back door and hid behind a bush as the stout, froglike woman in pink approached Hagrid's Hut. One they heard the door open, they started to move towards the castle, but turned back near the bush when they saw a dozen or so people approaching Hagrid's Hut from far away. Albus grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her into the forest. They needed to get back to the castle, but it would be nearly impossible without being seen.

"Did you bring the cloak?" Rose whispered.

"No. I couldn't find it." Albus said.

"What do you mean you couldn't find it?!" Rose said, raising her voice.

"Shhh!" Albus said.

Albus and Rose watched Hagrid's Hut as they heard crashing and screaming. Rose jumped when she saw a window break.

"Dammit! Check the forest; see if his portkey brought him there!" A woman yelled.

Albus' and Rose's eyes both bulged as they saw men running out of Hagrid's Hut and right towards them. Though they were both panicking, Albus took charge, grabbed Rose's hand and began running as deep into the forest as he could. They heard voices and yelling behind them, and Albus feared that they were doomed.

_Please review and tell me what you think so far! This is the darkest chapter by far, and there's more to come if I know people want me to continue this story_!


	14. The Missing Gryffindor

Chapter Fourteen: The Missing Gryffindor

Albus and Rose crept along the tree line of the forest. There were about a dozen men coming their way, and Albus wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this one. If only they had the cloak.

"Al," Rose whispered.

"What?"

"There's something that Hagrid said, something that doesn't make sense." Rose said.

"None of it made sense." Albus whispered back.

"But there was something else that didn't make much sense to me. A few days ago, Hagrid said Uncle Percy was running for Minister of Magic." Rose explained.

"Yeah, so?" Albus asked, in an annoyed tone.

"A few moments ago, he said that the Minister of Magic was going into hiding, he said that Umbridge was trying to take over."

"Rose, I'm not trying to blow you off, but can we talk about this later? We're not in a position to be having a casual conversation right now."

Rose gave Albus a dirty look, but agreed to stay quiet. A man dressed in all black walked within about five feet of where Albus and Rose were hiding. Getting to the castle would be very difficult at this point.

"We can't find him, Mam." The man in black said to Umbridge.

"Yes, well, keep looking. He may be still around here. Check the outskirts of the forest too, he had company before we showed up." Umbridge ordered.

The man in all black nodded, and motioned for others to come and help him search. Once again, he passed Albus and Rose by just a few feet.

"How are we going to get out of this?" Rose asked in a shaky voice.

Albus didn't respond. He didn't know how they were going to get out of this, never mind _if_ they were going to get out of it. Just as Albus was about to give up hope, he heard a muffled sound behind the bushes. Rose quickly drew her wand, when Max pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head.

"Come on!" Max whispered loudly.

"Max, what are you-…." Albus began.

"_Come on_, we don't have time!" Max said, ushering Rose and Albus under the cloak.

Albus, Max, and Rose snuck past three men before making a full fled run to the castle under the cloak. It was pouring now, but no one would be able to see them under the cloak. When they finally reached the big oak doors, they took the cloak off and walked inside.

"Should we go to dinner?" Rose asked.

Max exchanged looks with Albus. "I'm not; I'll meet you in the common room." Albus said.

Max and Albus ran up the Grand Staircase and into the Gryffindor Common Room. It was empty; everyone would be at dinner for the next half hour or so.

"Max, I don't know how to thank you-…" Albus began.

"_Now_ will you tell me what's going on?" Max asked, ignoring Albus.

Albus sighed and nodded his head. He couldn't very well keep Max in the dark after saving his butt.

"First, can I ask you how you got the cloak?" Albus asked.

"I, uh, well, you kind of left it lying on your trunk this morning. When I tried it on, I saw how it made me invisible, so I kind of followed you when you went to that man's hut…." Max said, trailing off.

Albus chuckled. "Haha, okay, look I appreciate what you did back there, but that's my dad's cloak and-…"

"I won't do it again," Max promised. "Please just tell me what's going on."

Albus explained about Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Umbridge, and the predicted fall of the Ministry. Max's expressions changed from awe, to disgust, to pure horror.

"So, so, if this Voldemort guy comes back into power…." Max began. "He'll, he'll come after you?"

"I don't know. It was my father who he had the connection with. I don't really know what he'd want with me."

Max nodded. "What are you going to do?"

"Honestly, I don't know _what_ to do. I have to find my brother and tell him."

The common room started filling up with students that were coming back from dinner. Scorpius was among them.

"Scorpius! How are you feeling?" Albus said excitedly.

Scorpius looked at Albus and walked right past him without saying a word.

"Scorpius?" Albus said.

Scorpius turned around and looked Albus right in the eye. "Please_, don't_ talk to me."

"Scorpius, I-…" Albus began.

Scorpius ignored Albus and walked up the stairs and into his dormitory. Albus didn't understand what was going on, but he shook it off as soon as he saw Rose.

"Hey, have you seen James?" Albus asked.

"He isn't here with you?" Rose asked.

"No…"

"I haven't seen him. Maybe he's in detention." Rose said, rolling her eyes.

Rose was probably right, James spent a lot of time in detention for multiple reasons; but when it became midnight, Albus began to worry. Max had fallen asleep on the common room couch.

"Max, Max wake up." Albus said, waking Max up.

Max fluttered his eyes then rubbed them. "Wha?" Max said groggily.

"James still hasn't come back…do you think something's happened to him?"

Max sat up straight on the couch and cleared his eyes again. "Did you check the dormitory?"

Albus walked up the stairs and headed towards his brother's dormitory. When he looked inside, his brother's bed was the only unoccupied.

"He isn't there…." Albus said, starting to worry.

"Should we go tell Professor Longbottom?" Max suggested.

"I just, well, I don't know. James wouldn't go out without telling me. I haven't seen him all day." Albus said, looking around frantically.

"Come on," Max said.

Albus and Max walked out of the portrait and down the corridor. They heard snoring on the other side of Professor Longbottom's door. They knocked loudly until they heard footsteps approaching.

"What is it, Albus?" Professor Longbottom said in a tired voice.

"Sir, sorry to wake you, but it's my brother. I haven't seen him all day, and he's not in the dormitory." Albus explained.

Professor Longbottom's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Yes sir. I don't know where he is." Albus said weekly.

Professor Longbottom motioned for Albus and Max to follow him. When they got to the portrait hole, Professor Longbottom went in while Albus and Max waited outside the common room. When he came back, he had a confused look on his face.

"Are you sure you haven't seen your brother today?" Professor Longbottom asked.

"I haven't seen him since this morning." Albus said, fear creeping into his voice.

"Alright, stay calm, Albus. We're going to go see Professor McGonagall about this. Max, I want you go back to the dormitory."

Max nodded and gave Albus a look of encouragement, but he was in no mood. He followed Professor Longbottom to McGonagall's office and walked up to her office. Professor Longbottom knocked three times, and when McGonagall answered she had a look of confusion on her face.

"Neville?" McGonagall said questioningly.

"Mam, Albus here says he hasn't seen his brother since this morning. I just checked, he wasn't in the dormitory." Professor Longbottom said.

McGonagall had a look of worry on her face, but quickly shook it off to avoid scaring Albus.

"Alright, Mr. Potter, please come in to my office. Neville, if you could-…" McGonagall started.

"I'll get in touch with his parents right away."

McGonagall nodded her thanks and ushered Albus into the room. It was dark, but Albus noticed that there were portraits of sleeping headmasters filled in the room. He even thought he heard one of them snore.

"Mr. Potter-…" McGonagall started.

"Are you going to find my brother?" Albus asked, interrupting McGonagall.

"Uh, yes, of course-…"

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?" Albus said, interrupting her again.

"Mr. Potter, we don't even know if your brother is definitely missing. For all we know, he could be wandering around the castle _again_."

"No, no he's not." Albus said, shaking his head.

"Alright, well, Mr. Potter, we will find your brother, don't you worry." McGonagall said, reassuring Albus.

Albus sunk into a chair and covered his head with his hands. Though it was not his fault, he felt responsible for James' disappearance. Albus only hoped that they would find his brother before it was too late.


	15. The Return of Dumbledore's Army

**Chapter Fifteen: The Return of Dumbledore's Army **

Albus sat quietly in McGonagall's office while they waited for Professor Longbottom to come back with the Potters. Albus was so nervous that he squeezed his sweaty hands in knots while he waited.

"Tea?" McGonagall asked Albus, placing a cup of tea in front of him.

"Thanks," Albus said, breaking out of his trance.

"Mr. Potter, I want you to know that we will find your brother, you have nothing to worry about." McGonagall said, trying to sound convincing.

Albus let out a small, unconvincing smile. "I…I know…it's just…well, I can't help but thinking this is my fault.

"How could this possibly be your fault?" McGonagall asked. "Your brother either took off,_ again_, or he…well…don't you worry."

Albus took a sip of his tea. He was contemplating telling McGonagall about Umbridge, and the Ministry. He didn't want to get in trouble, but his brother's life was more important than House Points and saving face.

"Professor, I-…" Albus began, as a loud thump broke his concentration.

Albus turned around to see Professor Longbottom come into the office with his parents. Without a word, Albus ran to his mother, as she embraced him in a hug. Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny and Albus at the same time. Albus was trying to stay strong, but he couldn't help by letting a few warm tears fall down his face.

"Hey, hey, it's alright Honey. We're going to find your brother." Ginny said to her son.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, embracing Harry.

"Professor," Harry said in return.

Ginny pulled Albus out of the hug and put her arm around his shoulder. She walked up to Harry and McGonagall.

"Alright, well, now that we're all here-…" McGonagall began to say.

McGonagall was cut off by a deafening "boom" sound. Albus shut his eyes as a flash appeared before him, which ended in the painstaking sounds of his Uncle Ron.

"Ronald, I told you not to use the boot, the magic is almost worn out!" Hermione said, brushing dust off of her coat.

Ron lay on the floor, clutching his stomach and an old boot. Albus was as shocked as McGonagall.

"Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said. "Care to explain to me, why you have a portkey that leads directly to my office?"

Ron heard McGonagall's voice and then froze. He sat up, and turned around, giving her a small smile while trying to think of a logical excuse.

"Professor, we're sorry. This boot belonged to my in-laws when Professor Dumbledore was headmaster. I wanted to apparate into Hogsmeade but-…" Hermione began.

"Alright, Ms. Granger, I mean Mrs. Weasley….oh Hermione, whatever I should call you now." McGonagall said with frustration.

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked Ron.

"We're talking about my nephew, mate. Did you really think we wouldn't come? Mum and Dad are watching Lily and Hugo." Ron said.

Harry gave Ron a nod of appreciation. Ginny squeezed her brother's hand, and Hermione gave both Harry and Ginny a look of compassion.

"Look, if we're ready to begin-…" McGonagall started to say.

"Professor, if it's alright with you, I'd like to talk to my son…alone." Harry said.

Ginny, Ron, and Hermione looked at Harry with confusion. McGonagall seemed to be the only one who understood.

"Very well, Mr. Potter, we'll wait for you in here." McGonagall said.

Harry gave McGonagall a nod of appreciation, then stood up and led Albus out of her office. They walked down the corridor and into an empty bathroom. Harry shut the door with his wand, and looked at Albus.

"What's going on Al?' Harry asked his youngest son.

"I don't know. I haven't seen James since this morning." Albus said honestly.

"No, no, it's something else," Harry said. "Something else is bothering you."

Albus looked down; there was no use in hiding it. "I know about Umbridge, Dad. I know about Uncle Percy, and I know about Voldemort."

Harry's expression didn't change. "I don't want you to worry about that."

"How can I not? I mean I knew you and Mum and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione fought a dark wizard, but not to the extent-…" Albus began.

"Al, listen to me, we have that under control. I don't want you to worry about that. They don't have your brother." Harry said.

"But how do you know?" Albus asked.

Harry knelt down to his son, and moved his hair aside. "You see this?" Harry asked, pushing his hair aside to reveal his faded scar.

"Yes?" Albus said.

"If something bad happened to your brother, this scar would let me know." Harry said, smiling.

"Huh?" Albus asked, confused.

"This scar served as a connection between me and Voldemort." Harry said.

"But wasn't that connection broken?" Albus asked.

"Yes, but if Voldemort were to return, we would be mortal enemies. He killed my parents, and he gave me this scar. Even if the connection is broken, this scar would let me know if something bad was happening to your brother." Harry said.

"But-…" Albus said.

"Trust me, Al."

Albus nodded his head and hugged his dad.

"Now, Albus Severus Potter," Harry said, in a much lighter tone. "There's also a matter of a few things that went missing from my office."

Albus' heart froze. He had totally forgotten about the cloak and the map. The map! Albus quickly remembered about the map James had used the first night they had sneaked out. Albus looked at his dad, and signaled for him to follow him. He ran up the Grand Staircase and into the corridor that led to Gryffindor Tower. After Albus opened the portrait, he ran up to James' dormitory while Harry waited in the common room.

Though it was dark, Harry took the familiar view in. The Common Room was exactly the same as he had remembered it, nothing had changed. Albus came running downstairs with the map in his hand.

"I'm also missing a cloak-…"

"It wasn't there." Albus said, quickly unfolding the map.

"What do you mean it wasn't-…" Harry began.

"Dad, I don't remember how to open this."

Harry took the unfolded map into his hands. He held his wand up and chanted the very words he hadn't said in a long time.

"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_."

Right before their eyes, the map showed Hogwarts and the various people walking through the castle. Harry held his wand up to the map once again, and whispered to it.

"_James Potter_."

Nothing happened. If James was in the castle, it wasn't showing up. Harry's expression had gone from hopeful to worn out and frustrated.

"Come on; let's go back to McGonagall's office." Harry said to his son.

When Harry and Albus had gotten back to the office, everyone turned back to look at them. Ginny walked over to Harry and hugged him.

"Anything?" she asked hopefully.

Harry kissed her forehead and took her hand.

"I want to split into groups. Ron, Hermione, check the Room of Requirement. Ginny and I will check the grounds." Harry said.

"Dad, what about me?" Albus asked.

"I want you to stay here, Albus."

"But-…."

"No buts, Albus. Do not leave this office, do you understand?" Harry said firmly.

Albus nodded his head.

"Mr. Potter, what would you like me to do?" McGonagall asked.

"Can you stay here with Albus?" Harry asked.

McGonagall nodded. "Neville, why don't you go check the grounds with Harry and Ginny?"

"Yes, Mam." Neville responded.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville walked out of the office and went searching for James. Albus was annoyed that he had been told to stay behind, but he had a plan.

"Professor?" Albus said to McGonagall.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Would you mind if I had another cup of tea, please?" Albus asked.

McGonagall looked a little surprised by the question but turned around to get the tea. Albus pulled his dad's old cloak out of his robes and threw it on quickly. When McGonagall was far enough away, he made a run for the door under the cloak. She had been able to catch him once with the cloak, but Albus hoped that she wouldn't be able to see him this time. This was Albus' brother; he wasn't just going to sit by while James was missing.

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry it took so long to post, I have been very busy with college. As always, reviews, comments, and feedback are always appreciated, and motivates me to put new chapters up!_


	16. Death of a Gryffindor

**Chapter Sixteen: Death of a Gryffindor**

Albus ran down the corridor as fast as he could, his ankles drifting in and out of the cloak. Wherever James had gone, Albus was going to find him. As he rounded the corridor to the stairs, he heard the patter of McGonagall running out into the hall.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter, I know you're out there, get back here immediately!" McGonagall yelled.

Albus looked back nervously and kept running. When he reached the staircase, he took two stairs at a time, being careful not to slip over the cloak. On his way down he heard the voices again.

"_Albus…." _The raspy voice yelled.

Albus stopped for a moment, but continued down the steps; he couldn't stop for anything or he would be caught. As Albus got to the bottom of the steps, he saw the familiar wave of curly blonde hair.

"Albus? Albus, is that you?" Max asked.

Albus reached the landing and pulled off the cloak quickly.

"Max, what are you doing?!" Albus yelled.

"I came to help you," Max said.

"No, go back, I can't-…." Albus began.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter get back up here immediately! Who's that with you?" McGonagall yelled from the top of the stairs.

Albus quickly threw the cloak over himself and Max. They ran out to the main entrance and ran onto the grounds, McGonagall not far behind. Though she was old, McGonagall was quick for an old witch and didn't miss a trick.

"Where are we going?" Max panted as Albus ran ahead, the cloak becoming stretched out.

"The lake!" Albus yelled, pulling off the cloak.

"The lake? Why? I thought we were looking for your brother…." Max said.

Albus ignored Max and ran forward as fast as he could. He threw the cloak behind him and ran ahead of Max, who slowed down and caught the cloak.

"Albus!" Max yelled, as Albus ran far ahead of him.

Albus didn't want to ditch Max, but he didn't have time to wait for him. He didn't know why he needed to go to the lake; he just knew he had to get there. Albus ran past Hagrid's hut and made his way to the lake. He had to be careful, his parents and aunt and uncle would be nearby, and would certainly hear him. Though Albus didn't want to get caught, he couldn't be bogged down by the cloak. He started scuffing the dirt as he jogged down the hill to the lake, and stopped right in front of the water.

Albus looked at the water; it lay practically still, the moon reflecting brightly off the top. Albus looked around, and heard nothing besides the soft lapping of the water against the shore. Suddenly, Albus heard a huge splash and looked over to the rocks. He couldn't be sure, but he could barely make out a figure sitting on the rocks. He squeezed his eyes in to get a better visual, and couldn't believe his eyes.

Albus jogged over to the rocks, getting his pants and shoes wet as he treaded lightly through water. The mermaid Albus had seen a few days ago lay on the rocks, beautiful, yet completely naked.

"Albus…isn't it?" The mermaid asked.

Albus nodded his head. "I'm looking for my brother."

"I can see that; there have been quite a few people combing the area for him." The mermaid said.

"Do you know where he is?" Albus asked.

"I might," The mermaid said, winking at Albus.

"Then, _tell me_." Albus said with frustration.

"Tut, tut, I don't like your tone. Come back with a better attitude," The mermaid said, jumping back into the water.

"No!" Albus yelled, as the mermaid disappeared from site.

"Albus?" Albus heard a voice say from far away.

Albus turned around to see his Mother squinting from far away. Just as he was about to run, the Mermaid jumped out of the water and placed its elbows on the rocks, cupping its head.

"Your brother's at the place where one must present gratitude." The mermaid said, ducking under water and swimming away.

Albus thought for a moment before it hit him. As he went to run back to the castle, he saw his mom and dad running towards him from the hill.

"Al!" Harry yelled.

Albus ran in the opposite direction of his father as he ran towards the castle. He didn't want his parents to know he was going back to the castle, so he ran around towards the Herbology Greenhouses to grab something quick. The greenhouses were locked, so Albus ripped some Rosemary plants growing outside the gardens and hoped it would be satisfactory. When he heard his parents approaching him, he ran to the castle.

Albus' parents weren't far behind him, but he made it to the castle without being stopped. As he ran inside, he ran right into McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter! You are in-…" McGonagall started.

"Professor, follow me!" Albus instructed, not meaning to push her aside.

McGonagall looked dumbfounded, but followed Albus nonetheless. Albus ran past the tapestries and down the staircases until he came to the familiar statue at the bottom of the stairs. The statue became lifelike, and Albus placed the Rosemary in front of the Mermaid statue. The Mermaid picked the Rosemary up, gave Albus a dirty look, and set the tapestry on fire. The door became apparent, and Albus pushed it open. McGonagall came running down the stairs and into the common room after Albus.

"Mr. Potter!-…" McGonagall said.

Albus ignored her and transfixed his gaze on a lump on the floor. He made his way to the lump, before he realized it was his brother. McGonagall noticed was Albus was looking at and ran over to James.

"Oh, my-…" McGonagall said.

Albus walked over to James and noticed he was as stiff as a rock.

"James?" Albus squeaked.

Harry, Ginny, and Professor Longbottom came running down to the Mermindor common room. Harry and Ginny entered, but as Professor Longbottom entered, the Mermaid Statue took its spear and struck him through the abdomen. Albus jumped at the noise Professor Longbottom made as he fell to the ground.

"Neville!" Ginny yelled

Harry ran over to Neville as McGonagall held her wand to the statue; which stayed still as if it had never moved. As Harry checked Neville, Ginny walked over to James.

"He's breathing! Harry he's-….Harry?" Ginny said.

"Neville's dead." Harry said.

_Sorry for this incredibly cruel chapter! Hope you're not mad at me, and continue to read!_


	17. The Dark Mark

Chapter Seventeen: The Dark Mark

Albus sat frozen next to his brother as he watched his father and mother examine Professor's Longbottom's body. If Albus has heard correctly, he had heard his father say that he was dead. Professor McGonagall put her hand to her mouth and inched toward the body. She held her wand in front of her, in anticipation of another attack. Albus stood up and slowly walked over to the body, with his hands by his side.

"Mum?" Albus squeaked.

Ginny looked at Albus with tears in her eyes, as she stood up and embraced him in a hug. She walked over to James, who was still lying limp on the floor.

"Harry," Ginny said, as tears streamed down her face.

Harry looked up at his wife, who was cradling their eldest son's head in her lap.

"We need to leave, Harry. We need to find Ron and Hermione, and have them get Rose. We need to leave." Ginny said.

Albus, surprised to hear what his mother had said, shook his head in disbelief. He was in even more awe when his father nodded his head.

"Professor," Harry said to Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, I'll arrange a portkey for you to be ready in Hogsmeade. Madam Pomfrey will take a look at your son before you leave." McGonagall said.

"But Dad-…" Albus tried to say.

"Thank you, Professor. We're going to need to do this quickly. I'll come back once I know my family is safe and in hiding." Harry said, moving away from Neville and moving to where James was lying.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I assume we're going to have a war on our hands by sunrise. It would be best if you got your family out now." McGonagall said.

"DAD!" Albus yelled.

Harry turned around in awestruck as if he had never heard his son yell.

"Dad, Dad, we can't leave! Professor Longbottom, he's-he's, and James!" Albus said in frustration .

"Al, I will explain everything once we get out of here. You're going to need to trust me; James will be just fine." Harry said, as he place his hand on Albus' shoulder.

"Right, well, I will go and find Madam Pomfrey." McGonagall said, as she left the room.

"Ginny, watch Al and James, I'm going to go find Ron and Hermione." Harry said, as he followed McGonagall out of the room.

Albus watched in tears as he saw his father leave, and he realized that he was leaving Hogwarts. He looked up at his mother, who had tears streaming down her face as well.

"Mum? Mum, why are we leaving? What's going on?" Albus cried.

"Shhh. Don't you worry, Albus. Everything's going to be just fine." Ginny said, as she patted Albus' head.

A few moments later, Ron and Hermione came rushing into the room with Harry and Rose. Ron and Hermione both stopped to look at Neville's body. When Rose looked, Hermione covered her eyes and walked her into the common room with Albus and Ginny. Rose was still wearing her pajamas, but had Ron's jacket draped over her shoulders.

"How is James?" Hermione said, bending over him and stroking his hair.

"He's unconscious," Ginny said. "I think he was petrified, but Madam Pomfrey will be down in a moment."

Hermione looked up to Albus, who was now shaking. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug. A few moments later, McGonagall came running through the door with Madam Pomfrey. Apparently Madam Pomfrey had heard the news about Neville, because she looked at him with sympathy before passing him, and rushing over to James.

She knelt down on the ground and felt his head and hands, before pulling a glass flask out of her robes. She steadied his head on her knees and held the flask to is mouth, letting the clear liquid run into his mouth. After a few mere moments, James began to cough and spit up remnants of the liquid.

"Oh, James, James, thank goodness," Ginny said, as she cradled her son.

James looked at his mother, weary-eyed, and shut his eyes as he let her rock him gently. Madam Pomfrey stood up, walked over to Harry and handed him something as she whispered in his ear. Harry stuck it into his pocket, then embracing Madam Pomfrey into a hug, before she waited outside. McGonagall looked at the floor and proceeded towards Harry.

"Mr. Potter, there will be a portkey waiting for you in Hogsmeade at the Three Broomsticks. Please be careful." McGonagall said.

Harry nodded. "Once my family is safe, I will be back."

McGonagall nodded as Harry lead everyone out of the common room. James was groggy, so Harry threw him over his shoulder and carried him. Ginny and Hermione lead Albus and Rose out of the room, trying to shade them from Neville's body. They followed Harry up the stairs, when Albus realized he had left the Invisibility Cloak with Max.

"Mum, I think I left something in the Gryffindor Common Room," Albus said.

"Don't worry, Albus, we can get Beau later." Ginny said.

When Ginny mentioned Beau, Albus' heart sank. He went to exchange looks with Rose, when she pulled his furry friend out of her father's jacket.

"Here, Albus, I got him for you." Rose said, handing Beau to Albus.

Albus nodded at Rose, but didn't smile because he felt it would be inappropriate considering the situation. He didn't want to tell his mother about the Invisibility Cloak, but he knew the subject would come up sooner or later. Albus tried to walk closer to his father and Uncle Ron to hear the conversation between them.

"…I'll do it," Ron said. "You take the portkey. I'll apparate back home and get Lily and Hugo. Under the circumstances, we might need my Mum and Dad, and probably George too."

"Right, you do that, I'll take the others to the safehouse. Meet us there, though after everyone's settled, we need to come back here." Harry said.

Albus was walking so close to his father and Uncle Ron that he walked right into them. James slightly opened his eyes and looked at Albus.

"Al, go walk with Mum," Harry said.

Albus was disappointed, but as he stepped backwards, his brother gave him a week smile and winked at him, implying that he would eavesdrop for him.

As Harry and the others walked out of the castle and into the grounds, Hermione stopped, as she looked up and put her hands over her mouth.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione said, pointing to the sky.

Harry looked up, but nearly fell backwards as he clenched his forehead. He wobbled as he nearly dropped James, and as Ron steadied him.

"The Dark Mark," Ron said, holding Harry upright.

"Comon!" Harry yelled, steadying himself.

Harry began to run as the others followed him. Ginny grabbed Rose and Albus' hand, and they ran as fast as they could. When they reached the little village of Hogsmeade, they stood in a circle as Harry gave out instructions.

"Okay, change of plans. Ginny, Hermione, take Rose, James, and Albus to the safehouse. Ron and I will go back and get Lily and Hugo. Go, go now!" Harry yelled, as he lifted James off of his shoulder.

Hermione put James arm around her shoulder, and scurried off to The Three Broomsticks with Ginny, Rose, and Albus. Harry and Ron grabbed each other and disappeared in plain sight. Albus turned behind him to see his father disappear. He didn't know what was going on, or what the Dark Mark was, but he knew after his dreadful night, that his life, and that of his family's, were in great danger.


End file.
